Free Bilston Market opening event in Wolverhampton on July 11

Name: Bilston Market Official Opening Celebration
Start: 2026-07-11
End: 2026-07-11
Location: Bilston Outdoor Market

Nadia Hughes 2026-06-04 21:27 Updated: 19:03 3 min read

Wooden crates of fresh vegetables and fruit under a rainy market stall canopy.

Bilston Market will mark its return to its newly redeveloped outdoor site with a free public celebration on Saturday 11 July.

The Bilston Market Official Opening Celebration will take place at Bilston Outdoor Market in Bilston, Wolverhampton. The opening celebration will officially mark the opening of the new market and use the new events space for the first time, adding to other local activities such as free Sunday yoga in East Park.

Entry is free and the event is open to the public. It is aimed at the local community, including regular market shoppers, families, traders’ customers and residents who want to see the upgraded site after the redevelopment.

A rebuilt market returns to its outdoor home

The new-look Bilston Outdoor Market is due to be completed by the end of June, after a multi-million-pound redevelopment delivered by contractor Speller Metcalfe for City of Wolverhampton Council.

The contractor is expected to formally hand the market back to the council on Thursday 25 June. The temporary outdoor market on the High Street will hold its final day of trading on Monday 29 June, before traders move back to the original outdoor market site on Thursday 2 July, the next scheduled market trading day.

More than £8 million has been invested in the scheme through a combination of Government and council funding. The redevelopment includes a new canopy designed to give traders better protection from bad weather, upgraded toilets, enhanced stalls, new signage and improved public areas.

The council has also said the site now has easier access, a flexible events space and a new taxi drop-off point.

July 11 celebration will open the new events space

The celebration on Saturday 11 July will be the first use of the new flexible events space at Bilston Market. The council has described it as the official opening event for the redeveloped outdoor market.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, Leader of City of Wolverhampton Council, said the opening would be “a memorable milestone” for the historic market and for Bilston. He said the council had delivered an improved and modern market for traders, customers and the local community.

For shoppers, the event will offer a first look at how the market’s public areas, stalls and canopy have changed. For traders, it comes after a period of operating from the temporary High Street market while redevelopment work continued.

Julie Emery of JD Produce, a Bilston outdoor market trader selling fruit and veg, said she had enjoyed the time on the High Street but was excited to move back to the “fabulous new market”. She said traders had heard positive comments from members of the public keen to visit when they return to the original outdoor site.

Key dates for shoppers and traders

Detail	Confirmed information
Contractor handover	Thursday 25 June
Final temporary market trading day	Monday 29 June
Traders open at redeveloped market	Thursday 2 July
Official opening celebration	Saturday 11 July
Venue	Bilston Outdoor Market, Bilston, Wolverhampton
Entry	Free, open to the public
Event time	Not yet specified by the council

What visitors can expect at the market

The source material confirms the redeveloped market includes a new canopy, upgraded toilets, enhanced stalls, easier access, new signage, improved public areas and a taxi drop-off point.

Bilston Market’s normal opening days are Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, between 8.30am and 4pm each day. Traders are set to begin operating in the new-look home from Thursday 2 July, ahead of the official opening celebration on Saturday 11 July.

Councillor Qaiser Azeem, the council’s Cabinet Member for Resident Services, said the new market would offer customers a community shopping experience and give traders the facilities they deserve. He also linked the market work to further investment planned for Bilston, including Black Country Route public realm improvements, the High Street Link scheme, the £20 million Pride in Place programme and a new Health and Wellbeing facility next to the leisure centre.

Source: Wolverhampton Scraper

Context & actions About this article

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This preview uses the City of Wolverhampton Council release and separates confirmed event details from details not yet published.

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