Wolverhampton's night-time safe haven scheme set to expand

Paul Dosanjh, from the city council, said the plan was to operate the safe haven service for 50 nights annually

A weekend scheme to keep city centre visitors safe at night is set to be extended.

The Late Night Safe Haven, in Wolverhampton, was introduced in 2021 after a trial and operates from a trailer in Queen Square.

The scheme offers medical help and somewhere for people to wait for a taxi.

The city council has been asked to approve funding so the scheme can operate for 50 nights annually.

The service is a partnership between the authority, the city's Business Improvement District and West Midlands Police.

In 2021, the force awarded £15,000 to the scheme to buy a "welfare vehicle" which provides hot drinks and can charge mobile phones.

Proposals seek to add an awning and windshield to the van.

There are also plans to hire portable toilets, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In a report to the council's statutory licensing committee, service manager for Trading Standards, Paul Dosanjh, said the service had already come to the aid of people when needed.

"A notable intervention was where safe haven colleagues spotted a distressed female on a night out," he said.

"A man had grabbed hold of her and was walking through the square, pretending they were a couple. The woman then made a hand gesture to members of the team who intervened immediately."

The proposed cost of running the service for 50 nights would be £17,409 annually, with £1,426 needed for one-off improvements to the van, the report said.

Councillors are due to discuss paying for the service via licensing budgets in a meeting on Wednesday.