Service centre hours reduced (From Ledbury Reporter)

Service centre hours reduced

9:20am Thursday 19th April 2012 in Ledbury By Tarik Al Rasheed

OPENING hours of customer service centres in both Malvern and Uptonupon- Severn are being cut.

As of Monday, April 23, the Worcestershire Hub centres at Malvern Library in Graham Road and Upton Library in School Lane will be closing at 5pm instead of 5.30pm.

Worcestershire County Council says this is because very few people use the facilities after 5pm and that increased online functionality means people can access more services from their own homes at a time convenient to them.

The reduced opening hours will initially be tested for two months, after which time a long-term decision will be made.

Rachel Hill, head of customer services, said the move would allow the council to make “more effective use of resources”.

“We have reviewed our customer contact and visits and have found that very few people visit the centres after 5pm,” she said. “The apply-for-it, pay-for-it, renew-it and report-it functions available online will also provide customers with an opportunity to make contact and engage with us. They can do this at a time that best suits them.”

Online functions available to customers include Blue Badge applications and obtaining copies of birth or death certificates, while recent improvements mean it is now also possible to report potholes, missed bin collections, abandoned vehicles and faulty street lights via the web.

The council is asking for customer feedback during the trial period and anyone who would like to have their say can e-mail info@worcestershirehub.gov.uk.

Malvern’s customer service centre is open from 9am-5.30pm, Monday to Friday, and Upton’s is open from 9.30am-5.30pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.