'Warwickshire Direct' opening in Southam

'Warwickshire Direct - Southam', a one stop shop which brings Warwickshire County Council and Stratford-on-Avon District Council services together under one roof at Southam Library, will be open to the public from 9 am on Monday 31st March.

A number of one stop shops, providing joint access to district and county council services, have already successfully opened their doors to the public in other parts of Warwickshire, but this is a first for Stratford District. Stratford-on-Avon District Council's current customer service reception will move from The Grange to Southam Library to join up with Warwickshire County Council as part of the new joint venture.

'Warwickshire Direct - Southam' will provide local people with a single point of access to library services, local information, advice and other key services, all in a convenient town centre location. From 1st June, opening hours will be extended, with the library and one stop shop also opening on a Wednesday from 9am to 5.15pm.

A team of friendly customer service advisors have been extensively trained to answer people's enquiries on a range of matters - including social services assessments, disabled parking badges, council tax enquiries, housing enquiries, environmental health, refuse collections, planning, leisure services and a lot more.

'Warwickshire Direct - Southam' will also feature self service facilities, where people can access information using the free internet services available within the library.  

All this is in addition to the usual services offered by Southam Library, which will continue to stock people's favourite books, CDs and DVDs in addition to the new items in its collection.

'Warwickshire Direct - Southam' is an exciting joint venture between Warwickshire County Council and Stratford-on-Avon District Council designed to make council services more accessible to local people. It follows the success of other 'Warwickshire Direct' one stop shops around the county in locations including Whitnash, Atherstone, Nuneaton, Bedworth and Kenilworth.

From 31st March to 31st May 2008, 'Warwickshire Direct - Southam' will be open:

• Monday         09:00 - 17:15
• Tuesday        09:00 - 19:00
• Wednesday    Closed
• Thursday       09:30 - 19:00
• Friday            09:30 - 17:00
• Saturday        09:30 - 13:00
• Sunday          Closed

It is hoped that the revised opening hours, and particularly the Wednesday opening from June 1st, will further improve access by giving local people the opportunity to access the broad range of council services at times more convenient to them.

Councillor Peter Fowler, Portfolio Holder for Performance & Development, Warwickshire County Council, said: "Our partnership working with other district and borough councils to provide 'Warwickshire Direct' one stop shops in towns around the county has been a huge success. I am delighted that residents in Southam will now also reap the benefits of having a single point of contact for local services on their doorstep.

"The aim is to bring a range of services, including county council services, closer to people in Southam and I am sure that the new 'Warwickshire Direct' one stop shop will achieve that. It will be a fantastic facility for local residents."

Councillor Juliet Short, Portfolio Holder for Customer Services, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, said: "'Warwickshire Direct - Southam', offers extended opening hours, a point of contact for many council services and is in a central location meaning that local residents have easier access to local public services.  

"'Warwickshire Direct - Southam' will be the first of three planned one-stop-shops in south Warwickshire.   This is a marvellous achievement and another example of effective partnership working."