Bognor's town hall service will be as 'hands on' as possible, council says

The statement comes as part of a response to concerns expressed last week that drop-in services will no longer be in operation at the town hall.

"Throughout the pandemic, and now, if somebody presents in an emergency housing situation, we have staff available to support them in person. For more routine issues, we can book an appointment, or help them find the answers they need on line,” they said

“This also happened pre-pandemic, but there was the option at that time to wait for a specialist to be available face to face if they were available – otherwise an appointment would have had to be made.”

The changes were revealed during a town council community engagement and environment committee meeting last Monday, provoking outcry amongst town and district councillors, who said the changes represent the loss of a vital local service, one which could disproportionately affect vulnerable people without access to the internet.

The district council responded: “We appreciate that a more organised and efficient appointment system will not suit everyone and we will always do our utmost to accommodate individual circumstances. It is worth being aware that the appointment can be set up at the customers convenience. This could be in person, in the office, by telephone or even virtually over the internet if that suits the customer.”

For staff at the council, the changes are all about adapting to work in a new, technology-orientated world, changed by the legacy of a pandemic: “As a council, along with many other public services, we are adjusting to new ways of working, delivering services and meeting the needs of our customers. An example of change since the pandemic is that of provision of parking permit services – we find very few people wanting to access this via our receptions because this is now available on line, however if someone needs help with this and wants to come to our receptions they are still able to do this.”

For more, visit bognor.co.uk