Following the introduction of the Sunday Trading Act in 1994 there are no restrictions on shopping hours - apart from Sundays. All shops are now able to open without restrictions between Monday and Saturday.
Restrictions on opening times on Sundays are now confined to large shops (defined under the Act as those having an internal sales area of over 280sq.m). The critical consideration is the floor area definition, which is clarified as meaning the part of the shop within a building that is used for display of goods and customer services.
They are required to remain closed on Easter Sunday (and on Christmas Day when it falls on a Sunday).
Apart from the restrictions mentioned above, it is left to individual owners to determine their opening hours in the light of customer demand.
