Bridgnorth High Street to reopen on Saturdays with fresh measures following town council calls

A temporary coned area will be in place to allow motorists to pass through the street and to protect both the market traders and the public.

Shropshire Council, which is behind the closure, said its aim is to continue to provide additional space for the market to allow for social distancing, while enabling deliveries to shops, allowing buses to drop off and pick up and allowing residents to access their town centre homes.

The limited waiting bays will not be available between Whitburn Street and Northgate due to the relocation of market stalls for social distancing, but a loading bay will be available in this section to support deliveries. Two blue badge bays will also be available between Northgate and Church Street.

Motorists are being encouraged to use the access for necessary journeys only, and shoppers and visitors are being asked to use the nearest car park on their entry to the town centre to reduce through traffic.

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A one-way pedestrian flow will be introduced, which will be aided by signs to further assist and improve social distancing.

Shropshire Council said this temporary arrangement will be implemented as a trial and may be modified in the future.

Over the past four weeks, highways and transport, trading standards and licensing and regulatory services officers from Shropshire Council have been working with Bridgnorth Town Council to reorganise, support, and provide advice to the market stall holders to operate in a Covid-secure manner, and to allow the public to have space to socially distance.

The latest development comes after the town council declared it would ask for High Street to reopen when it discussed the matter at a meeting last night.

Shielding

Councillor Carol Whittle said that with the Covid-19 lockdown beginning to ease, if High Street did not open she feared that the town would start to suffer.

"I have been shielding for months and I have now been told I can stop shielding so surely this is the time that we can look at reopening," she said.

Councillors said the main drawbacks to the closure had been that those living on High Street could not have vehicle access to their homes and were beginning to get frustrated.

Also with the bus stop not in operation, shoppers were having to carry heavy bags to the nearest stop at the medical centre.

There was caution from Councillor David Cooper who said the reopening should be in stages, stating that there had been recent spikes in the virus in nearby Wolverhampton and Sandwell, and now in Telford.

Councillor Clive Dyson added: "We need to open High Street again as soon as possible."

Councillor Geoffrey Davies said the pedestrianisation was hurting High Street trade while Councillor Cecilia Walker said everything must be done to help the market.

"People come to Bridgnorth to enjoy the market," she said.

"If we lose the market we may as well forget the high street. And if the high street dies then so will Bridgnorth. We must support the market."

Councillors stressed that if High Street was reopened it would have to impress on both shoppers and market traders that safety would very much depend on their co-operation to continue to socially distance.