TRADERS occupying Denholme Business Centre have been told to halt work on Sundays or face fines of up to £2,500.

The notice from Bradford Council was issued this week to businesses that are tenants inside the Halifax Road property.

David Fossey and Valerie Robinson, of Denholme Pet Emporium, have warned the “unfair” restriction means they will lose about one sixth of their takings.

Simmy Sekhon, director of the business centre, said the council’s action was the result of a “misunderstanding”, which could be resolved with a common-sense approach.

He said when planning permission for the centre was first given by the council two years ago, there had been a discussion as to whether its hours of operation should be limited.

“There was a debate on this matter but there was no resolution on it,” he said. “However, I believe that was mis-recorded in the minutes because they did agree to limit hours of delivery to and from the site.

“It’s a subtle distinction that has led to this misunderstanding. Bradford Council has been very helpful and supportive before, and we would ask it to allow these businesses to continue trading on Sunday pending the outcome of our appeal.

“These traders are not doing any harm, and 99.9 per cent of Denholme people support what we do at the centre.”

Mr Fossey said: “It’s unfair when you consider everybody else outside the centre can open on Sundays. Nobody here is doing any harm, there are no houses in front of us and we’ve got our own car park.

“This business centre has transformed what was a derelict old building, providing employment to the local area and providing amenities that weren’t here before.”

Dawn Fullard, manager at Whitaker’s Factory Outlet, confirmed she had received the same enforcement letter from Bradford Council, and said the restriction would have a major impact.

“It’s going to affect everything,” she said. “One girl is going to lose her job. I think it’s totally out of order.”

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “Planning consent for a number of different uses for Denholme Mills was granted in 2013.

“This consent was subject to a number of conditions, including conditions four and five, which relate to the delivery times and general operating hours. These specified there was no trading on Sundays.

“We have received complaints that the owner of the site and some of the tenants are breaching these conditions.

“Therefore, we issued a Breach of Condition Enforcement Notice, requiring the owner and tenants to adhere to the conditions.”