Stratford District Council suspends its Community One Stop Shops

Stratford-on-Avon District Council is changing the way it delivers customer service across the District by temporarily suspending its Community One Stop Shops.  There is no impact on the more permanent one stop shops at Alcester (Globe House) and Southam Library.

The District Council receives a large number of customer enquiries daily.  The number of customers both telephoning and personally visiting its Elizabeth House headquarters has risen sharply.  The Council has decided to prioritise reducing waiting times for both telephone and personal callers.

Councillor Stephen Thirlwell, Customer Services Portfolio says: "I'm very conscious that Stratford-on-Avon District Council covers a large rural area.  In recent years we have provided additional personal contact points for residents out in the community.  However times change and people's habits change.  We need to learn from our experiences and what the public now need in a modern society.  That is why we have to relook at our Customer Service operation.

"The District Council has increasingly limited resources and needs to concentrate its staff resource where it can offer maximum benefit to customers.  Our residents rightly expect us to provide a quality service and to offer services that give good value for money. This means making savings in certain areas so that we can use our resources to best effect.  Regrettably this has led us to decide that our Community One-Stop-Shops will temporarily be suspended in favour of improving the service delivered at Elizabeth House.

"A decision like this is not taken lightly.  Customer enquires at our mobile one stop shops have been relatively low and this has been the major factor in coming to this decision.  In the current economic climate the District Council more than ever has to look at different ways of delivering services.  From time to time a difficult decision like this will have to be made.  We cannot do everything and have to balance ambition with realism."

Residents are reminded that they can contact the District Council in a number of different ways.  These include by letter, email or telephone as well as in person at the offices in Stratford, Alcester and Southam.  There is also 24-hour online access through the website. 

The mobile Community One-Stop-Shops were located in Bidford, Wellesbourne, Shipston and Studley and have been temporarily suspended until the end of March 2011.