Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 20th April, it had agreed to defer consideration of a report on the designation of Belfast District (or the city centre) as a ‘holiday resort’ providing large shops with the option to extend Sunday trading hours between the months of March and October to enable further information to be received.  Subsequently, at its at its special meeting on 27th April, it had again deferred the matter to enable a Summit to be hosted by the Council that would include key stakeholders including the Trade Unions, business organisations such as the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Retail NI and the tourism sector and representatives of those shops who wished to have extended Sunday opening. 

 

            The Committee considered further the reports of 20th and 27th April, together with the supplementary report which had been prepared following the holding of the Summit.  A copy of the three reports in this regard are set out hereunder

 

            Report to the Strategic Policy and

            Resources Committee on 20th April

 

“1.0      Purpose of the Report 

 

1.1       The purpose of this report is to:

 

-       update the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on the updated findings from the public consultation as to whether Belfast City Council should designate the Belfast district (or the city centre) as a ‘holiday resort’ under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

-       to seek a decision from Members on whether to proceed with a ‘holiday resort’ designation

 

            The effect of such a designation would be to provide large shops with an option to extend their Sunday trading hours in the city centre on up to 18 Sundays (other than Easter Sunday) between 1 March and 30 September in any calendar year.  

 

            Such a designation may not come into effect until at least one month after the resolution of the Council. 

 

1.2       Deputations

 

            Members will wish to note that officers have received requests from both the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) and the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce to give short presentations to the Committee on this issue.  It will be a matter for the Committee to decide at the start of the meeting whether or not to receive the deputations from the aforementioned organisations (or indeed any other organisation who may make a similar request prior to the meeting).

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

 

                                             (i)     advise whether to receive the deputations indicated at para 1.2

                                           (ii)     note the contents of the report including the findings from the original public consultation which concluded on 5 May 2017 and the supplementary public consultation which ended on 2 April 2018.

                                         (iii)     make a decision as to whether to provide approval for the Council to make a ‘holiday resort’ designation under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

                                         (iv)     if it is decided to make a designation, to then decide as to whether to apply the designation to either:

 

a)     the entire Belfast City Council district area, or

b)     Belfast City Centre only (based on the BMAP definition of the city centre).

 

3.0       Main Report

 

3.1       Background

 

            The initial proposal was made in response to a strong lobby within the city to designate Belfast as a ‘holiday resort’ area in order to improve the tourism offering in Belfast (particularly on a Sunday morning), to boost the local economy and to support the overall regeneration of the city centre.  The principle of additional Sunday opening hours for large shops in ‘holiday resort’ areas was established under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. 

 

            Article 6 was included in the 1997 Order as an additional exemption to allow large shops in tourist areas to avail of the additional tourist trade over the summer months.  A number of councils in Northern Ireland have by resolution of the council designated cities and towns which receive tourists as holiday resorts including:

 

-         Derry-Londonderry     -         Newry     -         Kilkeel     -         Portrush     -         Portstewart     -         Ballycastle

(Derry City and Strabane District Council)   (Newry, Mourne and Down District Council)   (Newry, Mourne and Down District Council)   (Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council)   (Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council)   (Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council)

 

            Belfast, as a growing tourist destination in both Northern Ireland and wider afield may similarly wish to avail of this exemption. 

 

            It is important to note that any decision to designate as a holiday resort will not result in any change in existing legislation or further ‘deregulation’ of Sunday trading law.

 

            Requirement to consult

 

            Any designation as a ‘holiday resort’ must be done by resolution of the Council.  The legislation states that before making a designation the Council must first consult persons likely to be affected by the proposed designation. 

 

            Previous Consultation 2017

 

            The Council consulted widely on this issue during 2017 finding that of the total 2471 people and organisations who responded some 1531 answered yes (62%) and 934 answered no (38%) as to whether the council should designate Belfast as a holiday resort. At its meeting on 19 May 2017, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee decided not to designate Belfast as a ‘holiday resort’.

 

            Supplementary Consultation 2018

 

            At its meeting on 16 February 2018, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee agreed that the Council undertake an additional 6-week consultation between 19 February and 02 April 2018 on the key questions.  The purpose of this supplementary consultation was to allow consultees to further contribute to the existing evidence base and to provide Members with up to date information upon which to make any decision to designate Belfast as a holiday resort or otherwise.

 

3.2       Responses to the 2017 Consultation

 

            A total of 2471 people responded to the initial consultation in 2017.  A summary of the responses to the three main questions are included below.

 

1.     Should Belfast be designated as a holiday resort in order to provide large shops with the option to extend Sunday trading hours?

 

·        1531 answered yes (62%)

·       

934 answered no (38%)

 

 

2.     What area should the designation apply to? (Citizen space responses only)

 

            Of the 2471 responses received, 1689 answered this question:

 

·        1398 indicated all of the Belfast City Council area (82.8%)

·        291 indicated Belfast City Centre only (17.2%)

 

3.

Do you think Belfast would be more attractive as a tourist and/or shopping and leisure destination if the restrictions on Sunday opening times for larger shops were removed?

 

            Of the 2471 responses received, 1816 answered this question:

 

·        1515 agreed with this statement (83.4%)

·        294 disagreed with the statement (16.2%)

·        7 did not know (0.4%)

 

3.3       Responses to the 2018 Consultation

 

            In total, 5196 people and organisations responded to the supplementary consultation.

 

            Some 2092 responses were collected via Citizen Space (the council’s online consultation tool), with the remaining 3104 responses being comprised mainly of hard copy surveys (1695), survey postcards (1369) written correspondence (22) and emails (18). 

 

1.     Should Belfast be designated as a holiday resort in order to provide large shops with the option to extend Sunday trading hours?

 

·        2528 answered yes (48.7%)

·        2635 answered no (50.7%)

·        33 did not answer

 

 

2.     What area should the designation apply to?

 

            Of the 5196 responses received, 2674 answered this question:

 

·        2344 indicated all of the Belfast City Council area (87.7%)

·        330 indicated Belfast City Centre only (12.3%)

 

3.     Do you think Belfast would be more attractive as a tourist and/or shopping and leisure destination if the restrictions on Sunday opening times for larger shops were removed?

 

Of the 5196 responses received, 3768 answered this question:

 

·        2498 agreed with this statement (66.3%)

·        1213 disagreed with the statement (32.2%)

·        57 did not know (1.5%)

 

3.4       Analysis of overall findings (2017 and 2018 combined)

 

            Taking the initial consultation and the supplementary consultation together, some 7667 people and organisations responded to the consultation in total.  

 

            With regards to the priority question in the consultation –

 

1.     Should Belfast be designated as a holiday resort in order to provide large shops with the option to extend Sunday trading hours?

 

·        4049 answered yes (52.8%)

·        3583 answered no (46.7%)

·        35 did not answer

 

 

2.     What area should the designation apply to?

 

            Of the 7667 responses received, 4363 answered this question:

 

·        3742 indicated all of the Belfast City Council area (85.8%)

·        621 indicated Belfast City Centre only (14.2%)

 

3.     Do you think Belfast would be more attractive as a tourist and/or shopping and leisure destination if the restrictions on Sunday opening times for larger shops were removed?

 

            Of the 7667 responses received, 5584 answered this question:

 

·        4013 agreed with this statement (71.9%)

·        1507 disagreed with the statement (27%)

·        64 did not know (1.1%)

 

3.5       Postcode Analysis (2017 and 2018 Combined)

 

            An analysis of the postcodes of the respondents (7667 responses received, 7196 answered this question) who provided this information reveals that of approx. 80% of the ‘yes’ responses were from postcodes within the Belfast District.

 

            Similarly, approx. 80% of the ‘no’ responses were from outside Belfast.

 

Respondents location	Yes	No	Not answered	Total	% Total
Antrim and Newtownabbey	191	197		388	5.1%
Ards and North Down	108	235	4	347	4.5%
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon	45	260		305	4.0%
Belfast	2476	594	11	3081	40.2%
Causeway Coast and Glens	12	141	1	154	2.0%
Derry City and Strabane	3	70		73	1.0%
Fermanagh and Omagh	8	245		253	3.3%
Lisburn and Castlereagh	238	281	6	525	6.8%
Mid and East Antrim	50	283		333	4.3%
Mid Ulster	14	368	4	386	5.0%
Newry, Mourne and Down	62	127		189	2.5%
UK	12	1		13	0.2%
International	3	1		4	0.1%
Council Area/ Location Unknown	840	331	445	1616	21.1%
Grand Total	4062	3134	471	7667	100.0%

 

 

3.6       Next Steps

 

            Making the Designation

 

            Should the Council decide to make the designation, they must do so by resolution of the Council and the designation cannot take effect until at least one month after the date on which the resolution is passed. 

 

            Therefore, if the council made a resolution at the 1 May Council meeting then the designation could not take effect until 1 June 2018.  

 

3.8       How would the Exemption be Applied

 

            To make use of the exemption, the occupier or proposed occupier of a large shop must notify the local District Council of the dates of the Sundays involved.  The notification does not take effect until 14 days from the date it is given, unless the Council agrees that it should come into effect earlier.

 

            A Council must maintain a register of shops in its district making use of this exemption and make the register available to the public at all reasonable times.

 

            The Council may not dictate which Sunday’s the large shop may open on (within the designated dates) nor the opening or closing times.  Having made the ‘holiday resort’ designation the council’s role according to the legislation will be keep a register of the large shops making use of the exemption in addition to their existing enforcement role in respect of Sunday trading.

 

3.9       A co-ordinated approach

 

            If the Council decides to proceed with the designation, the Council will work with key partners including the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Belfast One and Visit Belfast to ensure the effective promotion of the additional hours and to consider the potential impact on city animation due to the additional visitors to the city on that day.

 

            For example, if a major event is taking place in the city over a particular weekend during the summer months, the Council would aim to ensure that the event would be promoted alongside a programme of supporting activities.  The city would effectively be ‘open for business’ across the entire weekend thereby maximising the tourism offering in the city and providing the option for both small and large retail stores to avail of the additional visitors into the city whilst the event is taking place.  Likewise, the retail and business partners have been working on the proposals for increased marketing and promotion in order to raise awareness of the change in opening hours, if agreed.  It is likely that the majority of retailers will want to open from 11am.  The closing hours are likely to remain unchanged.

 

3.10     Employment provisions

 

            Concerns about the impact of additional Sunday trading on the rights of shop workers was a major issue during the drafting of the original legislation in 1997.  To counter these concerns Article 11 and Schedule 2 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 was included to provide employment rights for shop workers, except those contracted to work only on Sundays.  They aim to ensure that shop workers are not compelled to work on Sundays against their wishes.  The rights apply irrespective of age, length of service or hours of work.

 

            The Schedule provides that dismissal of a shop worker (including dismissal for reasons of redundancy) is unfair if the reason for it was the worker’s refusal to work on Sundays.  It also provides the right not to suffer any other detriment (such as denial of normal promotion of training opportunities, or refusal to pay seniority bonuses etc.) for refusing to work on Sundays.  All shop workers who enter into a contract of employment requiring Sunday working are able to ‘opt out’ of Sunday working subject to giving the employer three months’ notice.  Enforcement of the employment rights is by way of complaint to an industrial tribunal.

 

            Charter on extended working hours

 

            Before any designation is made the Council will seek assurances from the various retail representative groupings including the Belfast Chamber and Retail NI that their Members (including all large shops wishing to avail of the extended opening hours) are fully aware of their obligations under the legislation to protect the rights of workers.  This assurance could take the form of an agreed Charter which all large shops planning on operating extended working hours on designated Sunday’s would sign up to.

 

 

3.11     Review of Holiday Resort Designation

 

            It is proposed that any decision to designate Belfast (or the City Centre) as a ‘holiday resort’ will be subject to a full review at the end of the designated ‘holiday resort’ period. 

                       

            To inform such a review the Council will carry out continuous monitoring and evaluation throughout the designation period with a view to bringing a report back to Members in April 2019 outlining the impact that the designation has had over the holiday period. 

 

3.12     Financial and Resource Implications

 

            There will be financial and resource implications for both the Development Department and the Planning and Place Department should the Council designate the council area as a holiday resort under Article 6 of the 1997 Order.

 

            The Building Control Service currently perform the enforcement role in relation to Sunday trading under the 1997 Order and the designation of the Belfast district as a ‘holiday resort’ would require an additional level of resource to manage the registration of participating shops and enforcement of same.

 

            The Development Department may need to consider how existing resources are re-focused to promote change in opening hours.  This may include additional city animation or promotional activities.  There may also be a request for additional financial support to supplement planned marketing activity.  This will have to be found from existing resources.

 

3.13     Equality Or Good Relations Implications

 

            A draft Equality Screening exercise was undertaken. Information elicited from the first consultation was used to inform and update the Equality Screening document.

 

            The Equality Screening document was shared with respondents to the online survey and hard copy questionnaire survey to help elicit their views.  As part of the consultation, respondents were asked if they were aware of any equality and / or good relations implications that should be considered around potentially extending Sunday trading. 

 

            There were 144 responses made to this question via the online consultation and in hard copy questionnaire format. Some respondents made more than one point. For comparison purposes to the previous consultation, the same thematic areas were applied.  Respondents said:

 

1.     Some people can't work on a Sunday due to religious commitments /going to church/family commitments but will feel obliged/pressured to do so if changes are implemented. (44)

2.     Extended Sunday opening during the summer will provide economic opportunities and conveys a positive cosmopolitan image to visitors/tourists. (17)

3.     If implemented, extending Sunday trading hours during summer months will provide additional choice for residents and tourists that want to shop on Sundays, for businesses that wish to open and people that want to work on Sundays. (2)

4.     Religious beliefs/current laws should not restrict those who wish to shop on a Sunday (1)

5.     Family life will be affected if Sunday trading is implemented. There will be a negative impact on retail workers who are carers/have children. (51)

6.     Extended Sunday trading conflicts with personal Christian religious views/faith beliefs (70)

 

            Information elicited from the consultation will be used to inform and update the Equality Screening document in line with members’ decision.”

 

            Report to the Strategic Policy and

            Resources Committee on 27th April

 

“1.0     Purpose of the Supplementary Report 

 

1.1       The purpose of this report is to:

 

-       provide the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee with supplementary information (to the original report of 20 April 2018) to inform any decision by the Council as to whether Belfast City Council should designate the Belfast district (or the city centre) as a ‘holiday resort’ under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

-       to seek a decision from Members on whether to proceed with a ‘holiday resort’ designation

 

1.2       Deputations

 

            Members will wish to note that officers have received a request from Retail NI to make a further oral submission to the Committee on this issue.  It will be a matter for the Committee to decide at the start of the meeting whether or not to receive the deputation from Retail NI (or indeed any other organisation who may make a similar request prior to the meeting), however others may have considered that they only had one opportunity to present to committee and they have therefore submitted further information in writing.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       It is recommended that Members:

 

                                             (i)        advise whether to receive the deputation(s) indicated at para 1.2

                                           (ii)        refer to the original SP&R report dated 20 April 2018 which includes the findings from the original public consultation which concluded on 5 May 2017 and the supplementary public consultation which ended on 2 April 2018

                                         (iii)        note the additional briefing report on a range of issues raised at Committee on 20 April 2018

                                         (iv)        note the draft Charter circulated to all interested parties

 

3.0       Main Report

 

3.1       At the meeting of 20 April 2018 the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee considered the original report and agreed to defer a decision, pending the provision of additional information.  Following the meeting, officers engaged with the parties that had made representations at the Committee meeting in order to request- further information on a number of issues raised including:

 

1.     Feedback from other NI locations on the impact of Holiday Resort designation

2.     Details on the number of people employed in retail in Belfast

3.     Details on the numbers of large stores (i.e. 280m2 +) who currently have staff in work before the normal Sunday trading hours (i.e. staff working before 1pm)

4.     Details on cruise ship visitors to the city, focusing on those visiting on Saturday and Sunday

5.     Details on how many cruise visitors come into the city centre

6.     Details on hotel occupancy at weekends in the city – focusing on the Summer period (April-September)

 

            Further submissions have been received from Usdaw, Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Retail NI, Visit Belfast and the NI Hotels Federation on the issues raised and upon the draft charter circulated (see para 3.2).  A summary of the additional requested information has been circulated.

 

3.2       Draft Charter

 

            At Committee Members requested sight of a draft copy of a potential Sunday trading Charter as per para 3.10 of the 20 April report.  The report stated that the Council would seek assurances from employer organisations that their members are fully aware of their obligations under the legislation to protect the rights of workers and that such assurance could take the form of an agreed charter that participating large shops could sign up to on a voluntary basis.

 

            A draft Charter was circulated on Tuesday 24 April as requested by Members to all those who had made representation at the SP&R meeting on 20 April and comments have been received in relation to the draft.

 

            An updated draft Charter has been circulated for Members’ consideration.  This draft charter represents a ‘voluntary undertaking’ on the part of participating shops and Members will note that the legal obligations reaffirmed within the Charter are enforceable through employment tribunals as outlined in Schedule 2 of the Sunday Trading Order 1997. 

 

            The Belfast Chamber of Commerce are supportive of the draft Charter and have indicated a willingness to work with its members on the promotion of the charter should a designation be made.  Usdaw and Retail NI have objected on the basis that the Charter is not in itself legally enforceable.

 

4.         Financial and Resource Implications

 

            See original report dated 20 April 2018

 

5.         Equality or Good Relations Implications

 

            See original report dated 20 April 2018.”

 

            Report to the Strategic Policy and

            Resources Committee of 18th May

 

“1.0     Purpose of the Supplementary Report 

 

1.1       The purpose of this report is to:

 

-       provide the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee with supplementary information (to the original reports of 20 April and 27 April 2018) to inform any decision by the Council as to whether Belfast City Council should designate the Belfast district (or the city centre) as a ‘holiday resort’ under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997

-       to seek a decision from Members on whether to proceed with a ‘holiday resort’ designation.

 

1.2       Deputations

 

            Members will wish to note that officers have received a request from Michala Lafferty, Usdaw to make a further oral submission to the Committee on this issue.  It will be a matter for the Committee to decide at the start of the meeting whether or not to receive the deputation from Usdaw (or indeed any other organisation who may make a similar request prior to the meeting).

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to:

 

                                             (i)     advise whether to receive the deputation(s) indicated at para 1.2

                                           (ii)     refer to the original SP&R reports dated 20 April 2018 and 27 April 2018 which include the findings from the original public consultation which concluded on 5 May 2017 and the supplementary public consultation which ended on 2 April 2018, as well as the additional briefing report on a range of issues which was provided to Committee on 27 April 2018

                                         (iii)     note the independent chairperson’s brief prepared by Richard O’Rawe following the summit held with a range of stakeholders on 10 May 2018 in Belfast.

 

3.0       Main Report

 

3.1       At its meeting on 20 April 2018 the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee agreed to defer a decision in order to receive additional information. 

 

            At its meeting on the 27th April the Committee agreed to once again to defer a decision to enable a Summit to be hosted by the Council that would include key stakeholders such as the Trade Unions, business organisations such as the Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Retail NI and the tourism sector and representatives of those shops who wish to have extended Sunday opening.

 

3.2       Following ratification of the SP&R minutes at the full Council on 1 May, officers issued an invitation to the key stakeholders outlined above to attend a summit meeting on Thursday 10 May in the council offices at 9 Adelaide.

 

            The council secured the services of an independent chairperson, Richard O’Rawe, to facilitate the summit meeting.  A copy of the Chairperson’s brief prepared after the summit meeting has been circulated.

 

3.3       The main summary points from the Chairperson’s brief are as follows:

 

            Areas of Agreement

 

            All parties agreed that they want to support the creation of a more vibrant city centre to attract visitors and residents on a Sunday morning.  They agreed that a programme of animation and promotional activity should be developed in order to enhance vibrancy and increase footfall in the city. 

 

            On Extended Sunday Trading

 

            Most of the organisations in the room were in favour of additional hours for large retailers on a Sunday.  In order to test the impact of the scheme and to review and address any issues arising, they noted that they would be open to considering a pilot scheme running to the end of September 2018.  They viewed the benefits as being both social (Sunday morning recreation) and economic (increasing visitor spend and more viable trading environment).

 

            Those in favour point to the extended trading hours as being optional and suggest that this will provide a choice that extends to shops, workers and customers.

 

            The Trade Unions and Retail NI are opposed to the proposal on the grounds that they believe it will take trade from smaller independent retailers and it will be detrimental to workers and their families.  Both the Unions and Retail NI would support a campaign to encourage small retailers to open additional hours on a Sunday and would be keen to package this up by ensuring that a programme of animation activity and promotion was put in place as well.  

 

            Those against extended hours are not convinced by the economic argument and believe that a ‘Small Shop Sunday’ programme would bring greater overall economic benefit.

 

            There was a view in the room that the disagreement on the economic value arising from extended Sunday trading hours will be tested if the pilot is approved.

 

            On the Charter

 

            Most of those in attendance were in favour of having an explicit commitment to reinforce the protection of workers’ rights. Those in favour of a charter noted that all of the commitments are already enshrined in law.  They felt that the charter offered a vehicle for retailers to make a public statement of their commitment to ensure that workers’ rights are protected in line with the existing legislation, and also to ensure that there is a regular forum for raising any issues related to the implementation. 

 

            The Trade Unions feel that the charter is meaningless as it has no legislative effect.  They also would have wanted to ensure that the draft text was agreed with them. 

 

3.4       Economic evidence

 

            In previous reports, a series of research pieces to support the demand for the proposed extension were undertaken.  These include:

 

-       21 cruise ships will arrive in Belfast on a Sunday (across the key Summer months).  20 of these ships will be in port by 09.30am.  These 21 ships will bring more than 36,000 passengers and staff

-       Visit Belfast research (April 2018) into the GB market (which accounts for 41% of overnight stays) found that 60% of potential visitors expected to be able to shop on a Sunday morning and 93% expected shops to open earlier than 1pm.  Retail is an important element of a vibrant city: 42% of GB visitor spend is on shopping

-       Hotel occupancy rates on a Saturday evening over the Summer period in 2017 averaged at 91.7% - with the highest levels of occupancy on Saturdays in August (97.2%).  Based on these figures, there could be up to 10,000 people in the city on a Sunday

-       Tourism NI confirmed that Belfast plays an important role as the gateway to NI, with 30% of all tourism spend in Belfast.  With over 1,000 new hotel rooms to open in 2018 and a similar number to become available in 2019 – there will be an increased demand to provide a range of options, in line with visitor expectations

-       Retailers argue that the sector is under pressure and that they have to adapt and try all possible avenues open to them in order to attract new business.  A report from Springboard (14 May 2018) demonstrated a 7.3% drop in footfall in retail across Northern Ireland in April 2018 – with a number of High Street stores closing or under significant pressure. 

-       USDAW do not believe that there is evidence of economic benefit from extended trading hours.  Those supporting the proposal consider that the pilot phase will allow for data to be collected which will provide specific detail on the impact of the extended opening hours. 

 

3.5      Financial And Resource Implications

 

            See original report dated 20 April 2018

 

3.6       Equality Or Good Relations Implications

            See original report dated 20 April 2018.”

 

Moved by Councillor Hargey,

Seconded by Councillor Attwood,

 

      That the Committee agrees not to designate the Belfast district (or the city centre) as a “holiday resort” under Article 6 of the Shops (Sunday Trading and &c.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 and that a report on animating the city on Sundays be submitted to the Committee in due course.

 

            On a vote by show of hands fourteen Members voted for the proposal and four against and it was declared carried.