HDC to consider Easter Sunday trading policy

Hastings District Council is considering whether to develop an Easter Sunday trading policy.

Submissions on the Hastings District Council's pre-consultation on whether to adopt an Easter Sunday trading policy have returned overwhelmingly against the prospect.

The council undertook the initial consultation in March and April this year and received 295 submissions, 200 of those opposed to the development of such a policy.

The issue arose after a recent law change gave local councils the authority to permit Easter Sunday trading, and also followed a request from Foodstuffs North Island Ltd last year for the Hastings council to look into the matter.

To date, 25 of the country's 67 local councils had adopted the option, including Napier, which was open for business at Easter this year, the first region in the country to do so.

Among the submissions received, of those opposed to the idea most considered that allowing Easter Sunday trading would reduce the already limited opportunities families had to spend time together.

To a lesser extent, submitters favoured retaining the status quo for religious reasons.

Seventeen submitters felt it was important for workers in the retail industry to get a break - others felt there were already enough shopping days and that people did not need further opportunities to shop.

Of those in favour of adopting a policy most said shop owners and the community should be able to make their own decisions on whether or not they opened their business or shopped on Easter Sunday.

Others felt Easter was an outdated concept, or noted that Easter trading would be good for the local economy.

Hastings City Business Association manager Susan McDade said the association's view was that Hastings' policy should align with Napier.

"We are so close to each other and have companies with a presence in both cities - it's confusing for the general public having two sets of rules."

She added that it should be up to businesses to decide what they wanted to do, as long as staff weren't pressured into working, and that this stance was obviously being recognised by the Government with its legislative change.

"There probably needs to be more discussion with both the business community and the general public."

Havelock North Business Association president Milton Andrews said the association had not yet had a chance to gather the views of its members, numbering up to 500.

"We do have to address this though as a lot of our members would like to open on that Sunday."

On Thursday, the council will consider the submissions and whether to progress to further public consultation on the matter, or take no further action on a trading policy and advise the community of its decision.