Shopping centres will open for longer on Sundays throughout the summer to cash in on the Olympics as a boom in visitors is expected in the country, bosses revealed today.
The Bullring in Birmingham will open for an extra three hours during the Games. While the Guildhall Shopping Centre in Stafford and Merry Hill in Dudley will be open for two hours longer on Sundays.
Meanwhile, bosses at both the Mander Centre and the Wulfrun Centre in Wolverhampton today said they were also considering extending their opening hours.
The Government has relaxed the Sunday trading laws to help boost trade during the Olympics, when it is estimated more than one million people will visit the UK. Chancellor George Osborne first proposed emergency legislation so large shops in England and Wales can trade for more than six hours in his budget.
The laws have been suspended for eight weekends from July 22 during the Olympics and Paralympics.
At the Bullring, the weekday opening hours will remain the same but the centre will be opening longer on Sundays between July 29 and September 9, from 10am until 7pm, instead of 11am until 5pm.
While Merry Hill will be open between 10am and 6pm from July 22 and September 9, instead of 11am until 5pm.
Westfield, which owns the centre, says it will be running special events and hosting entertainment during the summer.
Centre manager Lucas Ross said: “Department stores and speciality stores will be open and we anticipate shoppers will love the extra flexibility to shop later on Sundays during this time.”
Wolverhampton’s Mander Centre director Nicholas Pitt said the venue was in discussions with tenants about extended opening hours.
He said: “We are looking at what can be done so our tenants can capitalise on trade. For some it might not make sense, depending on costs involved with remaining open. We hope to make an announcement in the next few days.”
The Guildhall Shopping Centre will be open between 9.30am and 5.30pm on Sundays from July 22, instead of 10.30am – 4.30pm.
Meanwhile, Wulfrun Centre bosses are expected to speak to traders about the possibility of extending opening hours today.
Queens Square Shopping Centre in West Bromwich will not be extending its opening hours.
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