Above : Tony Bywater, Salop Leisure's Chairman.

Calls For Fixed Easter Date

A leading businessman is calling for the date of Easter to be fixed to help businesses and avoid public confusion every year. Tony Bywater, chairman of caravan and motorhome dealership Salop Leisure, said fixing the date of Easter, which can vary by as much as month every year, would help businesses and their customers when planning for the year. This year, Easter is from March 30 to April 2, but it can potentially be any date between March 22 and April 25.

Easter is usually celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after March 21, the first day of spring, because it is based on the lunar calendar. “The fact that Easter falls on a different date every year causes businesses tremendous problems and I think fixing a date would help the tourism industry especially,” said Mr Bywater, whose business has sales centres in Shrewsbury, Machynlleth and Stourport-on- Severn. “Businesses like to know how many days they have got after Christmas to get ready for Easter and currently the date can fall anytime between March 22 and April 25. It’s confusing to businesses, tourists and the public in general. “We also have a situation where some businesses open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday while others don’t, which is also confusing for customers.” Mr Bywater has raised the issue with Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski, who has pledged to investigate.