Sark laws banning tractors on Sundays could be relaxed

Thursday 28 March 2024

A quirky law forcing Sark tractor owners to get written permission from the island's Constable if they want to use their vehicle on Sundays could finally be thrown out after complaints that it has become too much of a "burden".

Sark is one of the few remaining places in the world where cars are banned from roads, and only tractors, bicycles and horse-drawn vehicles are allowed.

But part of the island's Road Traffic Offences Law currently includes a section which makes it an offence to drive or attempt to drive a motor vehicle on any public roads on a Sunday.

Those seeking to do so much obtain the written permission of the Constable.

Sark's Douzaine Committee is now calling for this law to be updated following an increase in the number of businesses operating on Sundays.

The Committee explained that, following the introduction of Sunday day trips to the island in 2007, there has been a "gradual shift from the notion of ‘keeping Sunday special’ to it becoming more ‘just another working day’".

The proposition said that "it has become a burden for the tractor owner in having to contact the Constable, in writing, on each occasion that they have legitimate need to use their tractor on a Sunday, and the Constable in dealing with such requests".

The Chief Pleas – Sark's government – directed the Douzaine Committee to instruct Law Officers to prepare an amendment to the relevant laws.

The topic will be debated at the Easter meeting of the Chief Pleas on 10 April 2024.

The full proposition can be found online.