{"id":13456,"date":"2024-10-06T12:30:10","date_gmt":"2024-10-06T12:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/unholy-row-over-tesco-plan-for-sunday-opening-on-isle-of-lewis\/"},"modified":"2024-10-06T12:30:10","modified_gmt":"2024-10-06T12:30:10","slug":"unholy-row-over-tesco-plan-for-sunday-opening-on-isle-of-lewis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/unholy-row-over-tesco-plan-for-sunday-opening-on-isle-of-lewis\/","title":{"rendered":"Unholy row over Tesco plan for Sunday opening on Isle of Lewis"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Tesco store in Stornoway currently replenishes stock on a Sunday but does not open to the public<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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A Scottish island community is divided over a supermarket’s plans to open on a Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Tesco branch on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides has started holding consultations with staff and residents about opening seven days a week.<\/p>\n

The island, which has a population of about 20,000, has a long tradition of observing the Sabbath day, meaning that some shops – including both supermarkets – currently keep their doors closed on a Sunday.<\/p>\n

Over 600 people have now signed an online petition against the proposed change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Many of the island’s residents are members of various protestant denominations that believe Sunday should be a day of rest. <\/p>\n

The practice is derived from the Bible’s fourth commandment which states “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”.<\/p>\n

Observance of the Sabbath was once so strict that play park swings were chained up at dusk on Saturday, and hanging out washing on a Sunday was frowned upon.<\/p>\n

Restrictions have relaxed over recent decades, with the first Sunday commercial flight landing at Stornoway airport in 2002 and Sunday ferry sailings have operated since 2009.<\/p>\n

But while petrol stations, some restaurants and Stornoway’s cinema now all open on Sundays, many local shops, including the only other supermarket, a Co-op, remain closed.<\/p>\n

Council run-facilities such as swimming pools, soft-play areas and the island’s two-lane bowling alley are also shut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ferries now sail from the island on a Sunday<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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A petition against the Tesco proposals<\/a> was started by Alasdair Macleod, who said “work-free Sundays” make people from Lewis the “envy” of many people living on mainland Scotland.<\/p>\n

He said: “Many of us hold cherished memories of island Sundays as a guaranteed day of rest, relaxation and no work – a precious day of family time and worship. <\/p>\n

“However, this simple yet profound day is at risk due to the concept of seven-day trading creeping into our culture.<\/p>\n

“When stores and businesses open their doors on Sunday, it may seem like a convenience at first, but the resulting ripple effect leaves workers with less time to rest, less time for family, less time for church worship and invariably, a lower quality of life.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Although the Tesco store is currently closed on a Sunday, some staff already work to replenish shelves. <\/p>\n

The supermarket said that no staff member would be forced to work on the Sabbath if the plans go ahead.<\/p>\n

Christian Davies, store director for Tesco in the Highlands and Islands, said: “We are confident we can carefully balance the demand for a seven-day opening while remaining respectful to local traditions and culture.<\/p>\n

“While shopping on a Sunday is not for everyone, a store that is open seven days a week would significantly improve the shopping experience for all customers, by offering choice to those who do want to shop on a Sunday and reducing congestion during other days of the week, especially on a Saturday.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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Getty Images The Tesco store in Stornoway currently replenishes stock on a Sunday but does not open to the public A Scottish island community is divided over a supermarket’s plans to open on a Sunday. The Tesco branch on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides has started holding consultations with staff and residents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[4980,3306,385,127,682,440,1919,5915],"class_list":["post-13456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scotland","tag-isle","tag-lewis","tag-opening","tag-plan","tag-row","tag-sunday","tag-tesco","tag-unholy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13458,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13456\/revisions\/13458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}