Many city centre shops will remain open until 6pm from Monday.
The retailers will remain open until 6pm from Monday to Thursday. On Fridays the shops close between 7pm and 9pm.
The city centre marketing co-ordinator, Melanie Williams, says the later opening was prompted by the fact that about 60
per cent of people who shop in the city centre work there, too. “It will now be a case of six o’clock till,” she says.
“The retailers are now giving them the chance to shop an hour after instead of half an hour,” she said.
The new closing hour will run until the Christmas-New Year shopping hours take over. The 6pm closing would continue
after the holiday until April.
Then the situation will be studied to see if the 6pm closing is to become permanent.
“It could be that the 6pm closing would be for the daylight saving period only. That will be discussed in April.
Retailers are making the move in light of the big changes in the city centre with the opening of the bus interchange and
the opening of The Crossing complex where Arthur Barnett and Ballantynes will be joined with an airbridge,” Ms Williams
said.
There are about 350 retailers in the city centre.