A second barbers in Wolverhampton has been served with a prohibition notice by City of Wolverhampton Council after being found to be breaking the Government’s coronavirus social distancing rules.

The Godbarber, located on Great Brickkiln Street, was found to be operating and allowing customers to wait together on the premises for haircuts.

Today (Wednesday) the council’s Environmental Health and Trading Standards Team, along with West Midlands Police, visited the owner to serve the notice and ensure they stop trading in any form until they are permitted to by the Government.

The Government has ordered non-essential businesses 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 Steve Evans, Cabinet Member for City Environment said: “I would like to remind business owners that this is very serious and that the council takes a zero-tolerance approach to businesses that are still operating and not adhering to the rules during the pandemic.  

“The Governments rules and regulations are clear, and those offering the services of both barbering and hairdressing should remain closed until further notice. 

“I would like to thank the residents of Wolverhampton who are helping us through this time and reporting any concerns they have to the Environmental Health and Trading Standards Team.”

To report an issue, please contact environmental.health@wolverhampton.gov.uk.

Residents are urged to continue to stay at home and 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.