City of Wolverhampton Council is gearing up to reopen its markets on Saturday and its household waste and recycling centre in a phased approach within the next couple of weeks.

Following Government advice, both services will reopen in the coming weeks with restrictions and social distancing measures in place.

The city council is finalising plans to get both services up and running smoothly and safely to meet the demand of its residents, while keeping public health its top priority. 

These services will be reopening in a phased approach to ensure they are effectively managed. 

Markets at Bilston, Wednesfield and the city centre are expected to open for fresh food produce sales from this weekend. 

Councillor Steve Evans, Cabinet Member for City Environment at City of Wolverhampton Council said: “The council has been working hard to draw up plans to reopen these important public services, safely and effectively. 

“Logistically, we’ve had to consider how they can operate whilst adhering to strict social distancing rules and traffic management.  

“At the height of the crisis, it was important we closed these services in line with government guidance until the national and local conditions were right to consider reopening. 

“We have developed plans which put social distancing at the heart of our safety approach, ensuring we protect residents and employees. This will mean a very different experience for visitors. 

“We ask the public to be patient and bear with us and to please observe social distancing rules to help us to keep you and others safe.

“We are keen to get opening hours back to normal, but protecting public health and life, including staff who work at our sites, has to be our number one priority.

“I would like to thank market traders and the public for their patience and understanding during this difficult period. We will do our upmost to continue to support traders to get their businesses back to normal as best as we can. 

“Finally, I’d like to thank officers who have been working on the plans to help get our services up and running as quickly as possible.”  

The city council will communicate the reopening dates via its social media channels and website once details have been confirmed.