City of Wolverhampton Council is urging people to continue adhering to the Government’s social distancing guidelines – after a Wolverhampton pub landlord broke the rules.

The Pendulum pub, Blaydon Road, Pendeford, was brought to task by West Midlands Police after continuing to open behind closed doors.

Following an expedited licensing review today (Friday) the premises license has been suspended until a full hearing.

The Government has ordered non-essential businesses - including pubs and restaurants - and public spaces to be closed and banned all public gatherings of more than two people, except where they are from the same household or where the gathering is essential for work purposes.

Councillor Alan Bolshaw, Chair of Licensing Committee, said: “I am very disappointed that the premises licence holder and designated premises supervisor has appeared to place members of the public at risk, when everyone should be adhering to the restrictions put in place to protect people.

"The decision taken was to support the Police in their application to suspend the licensable activities at the Pendulum, Blaydon Road, Pendeford, Wolverhampton. A full review of the premises licence will now take place."

A date for the full hearing has yet to be set.

Residents are strongly urged to continue to stay at home as much as possible. People should only leave the house:

• To shop for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible.
• For one form of exercise a day, for instance a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of their household.
• For any medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person.
• To travel to and from work, but only where work cannot be done from home, or to take children to and from school if parents are classed as 'critical workers'.

These measures should be followed by everyone. Separate advice is available for people or households who are isolating, and for the most vulnerable who need to be shielded.

All social events, including weddings, baptisms and other religious ceremonies, have been stopped. Funerals continue, but should only be attended by immediate family members.

When out in public, people must stay two metres – or six feet – away from other people at all times, unless they are from the same household.

To enable shoppers to keep their distance, retailers which have been permitted to remain open – including supermarkets and corner shops – have been encouraged to place limits on how many people can be in-store at any one time and to ask customers to stand two metres apart when in-store and whilst queuing. In addition, customers are encouraged to pay using contactless to reduce the amount of cash being handled by staff.

The council has produced a poster for shops and businesses to print off and display, advising staff and customers of social distancing measures in operation on the premises. It is available at https://bit.ly/2wThGrB.

The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/coronavirus. There’s lots of advice on how people can protect themselves and their families from coronavirus from the NHS at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.

The council’s Stay Safe, Be Kind campaign offers clear and simple advice about how people can help themselves, and how they can support others who may be particularly vulnerable at this time. For more information, please visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/stay-safe-be-kind.