Work has begun on a new North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) Customer Centre in the heart of Coalville.

The Council says the move will take all customer appointments – including council tax, benefits and fraud, environmental protection, planning, housing, licensing, waste and communities – to a new, more accessible location on Belvoir Road, using one of the Belvoir Shopping Centre units.

A police enquiries desk will also be located in the Customer Centre.  

New wooden cladding on the front of the Customer Centre

Work has already been completed to make the building fit for kitting out – including a new roof and an updated frontage using timber to reflect the location in the National Forest.

Now the council adds that the inside of the premises will be 'transformed into a modern customer centre'.

The fit out work is planned to take around four months, with the Customer Centre expected to open in the Autumn.

Customer-facing staff, including housing and planning officers will take appointments at the new Customer Centre, working alongside Customer Services staff who will continue to support customers in person, on the phone and digitally.

Other staff will be based at either a refurbished Whitwick Business Centre on Whitwick Road or at Stenson House on London Road - the historic part of the current Council Offices.

A proposal to change the authority's accommodation to suit its new ways of working was approved by NWLDC's Cabinet in July 2021 and ratified by Council in September 2021.

Once all new accommodation is complete, the aged 1970s part of the Council Offices will be demolished.

The Council says:

• The current Council Offices, which were built in the 1970s as an extension to Stenson House, is considered unfit for modern working and would cost millions to make it fit for purpose. It would cost:

• £4 million in backlogged maintenance to bring it up to safe standards

• £7.3 million to refurbish for modern ways of working

• £7.8 million to build a replacementThe council says it is investing £1.5 million to create its new office space at Whitwick Business Centre and create a Customer Centre in Coalville town centre.This move towards a more agile way of working has been in the pipeline for some time now, but the pandemic fast tracked this work somewhat, with the majority of staff immediately set up to work from home.

• Whitwick Business Centre is owned and managed by North West Leicestershire District Council. Businesses currently located within the centre are being supported to move to new premises by the council, or relocated within the building, alongside the new council offices.

• The Belvoir Centre is owned and managed by a private company, Gylo. NWLDC will lease the unit from the company.

• The new office accommodation will provide space for around 50% of NWLDC office-based staff at any one time and will be a space where people can work together in person. The rest of the time staff will continue to work from home, providing a flexible and modern approach to working.

• Once the move away from the Council Offices is complete, the building will be demolished and the land, including the car parks will be sold. London Road Car Park will be retained, and access to the bowls club and gardens backing on to the land will be maintained.

Andy Barton, Strategic Director at NWLDC, said: "Putting customers at the heart of everything we do is our ethos, and we're excited to bring our main Customer Centre into the town centre, giving customers much more ready access if they need that face-to-face contact. 

"We're committed to giving customers the flexibility to choose how they access our services, whether it's face-to-face, over the phone or virtually, and we hope a more modern, accessible face-to-face experience will help with that."

Councillor Richard Blunt, Leader of North West Leicestershire District Council, added: "Our current building is not fit for modern working and isn't a nice place for customers to visit.

"The building needs so much investment that it simply doesn't make financial sense to stay.

"Our office staff are moving to a more efficient building while customers will get a better experience in a much more convenient town centre location, with two hours' free parking within close walking distance."