Car-free Sark could relax Sunday ban on tractors

Conseillers will debate relaxing a ban on tractors on Sunday

The law stopping tractors from being driven in Sark on a Sunday could be relaxed.

It is currently against the law to drive a tractor on any of the public roads on a Sunday without the permission of the constable.

Proposals to relax the current laws have been published by Sark's Douzaine committee.

Conseillers are due to debate the issue at the Chief Pleas' meeting on 10 April.

Sark remains one of the few places on Earth where cars are banned.

Sark residents currently need permission to drive a tractor on Sundays

In 2019, Sark's government voted to legalise the use of electric bikes on the island.

The proposals from the Douzaine said since the introduction of Sunday sailings to the island in 2007 "there has been a gradual shift from the notion of keeping Sunday special to becoming just another working day".

The report will be presented by Frank Makepeace, the chairman of the island's Douzaine committee, who said: "The law has become a burden for tractor owners on a Sunday."

The Douzaine argued businesses in agriculture and fishing have always needed to work on a Sunday.

It also said there had been a gradual increase in the number of businesses needing to operate on a Sunday.