Royal wedding call: Don't give stores extended hours

The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) has urged the Government to make sure supermarkets aren't granted the automatic right to open later during the royal wedding weekend.

The Home Office is consulting on plans to let licensed premises open until 1am on Saturday, 30 April, following the wedding on the Friday, and 1am on Sunday, 1 May.

In its submission, ALMR said it "must specifically exclude supermarkets and off-licences" to "minimise the potential for social disorder".

"This will ensure that the order is correctly targeted at those premises hosting actual events to celebrate the royal wedding and that sales and consumption are monitored and managed in a responsible environment," said strategic affairs director Kate Nicholls.

Nicholls said the extended hours would be a "welcome fillip for, what remains, a fragile industry" — and urged them to be a "test case" for the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games.

Levy fears​

But she said "several operators" fear that using the hours could see them labelled a "late-night operator", and be subject to the late-night levy.

She suggested its success could indicate the levy and early-morning restriction orders should apply only after 1am.

Nicholls also wants the Government to clarify whether venues that can already trade until 1am are able to apply for further licence extensions using a temporary event notice.

"We have had discussions with some local authorities who have assumed that the national order would replace the right to request additional hours in all circumstances over these days and we would welcome a clear statement from Government to that effect," Nicholls said.

The two-week consultation has now closed.

• What are your plans for the royal wedding knees-up? Email wbua.uneevatgba@jvyyvnz-errq.pb.hx​ or call 01293 610481.