Here's the latest Argus column by Caerphilly County Borough Council Cllr Philippa Marsden:

RESIDENTS will no doubt welcome the news that our Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) will begin to reopen from next Tuesday, May 26.

Recent changes to Welsh Government guidance has allowed us to do this and I would like to thank everyone for their patience to date.

It is important to note that the sites should only be used for essential waste that cannot be disposed of using our usual kerbside collection services or cannot be safely stored at your property or in your garden.

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Please be aware that there will be new on-site restrictions to help ensure the safety of staff and residents and we are also expecting a high demand, so traffic management measures will be put in place to limit cars queuing at the sites

In terms of our schools, the education minister has announced a framework that sets out a series of questions that will need to be considered in order to inform any decisions about a potential return to school. No decisions have been made to date, but I would like to assure you that the safety of children, staff and parents will not be compromised in anything we do.

The council is also considering options to recommence our library service over the coming weeks (whilst minimising the need for non-essential travel journeys) and this is likely to be done in a phased basis. We will announce further details about this shortly.

Our key consideration throughout this outbreak has been to ensure that we continue to deliver keys services to our residents – particularly the most vulnerable in the community.

It is clear that a huge amount of work is being done at the moment as we transition from ‘response mode’ to ‘recovery mode’ as an organisation. It’s encouraging to see these positive developments are beginning to signal a return to some degree of ‘normality’, but I think we all fully appreciate there is a long way to go yet.