Bognor Regis Town Councillors speak out about changes to town hall

Several members of the council urged the district council to reconsider a decision to change provision of service at the town hall – forcing members of the public to book an appointment online or over the phone in order to be heard.

"I think Arun should seriously look at this again, and put in place two or three staff at least to help,” said Arun and town councillor Jeanette Warr.

The comments came after a member of public asked the council to comment on Arun District Council’s most recent response to concerns about the state of service at the town hall. In that response, a spokesperson for Arun District Council told the public: “We are concerned about the misleading social media and misinformation being shared, that Bognor Regis Town Hall is closing down. We are open, we have staff in the building, and we are talking face to face to our customers. We are monitoring customer need and are providing services. As with many other public services we are now doing some of our work by appointments and digitally and are able to guide people through the process where we can’t help them on the spot at the Town Hall.”

"I think there’s some misinterpretation going on,” added Councillor Wayne Smith.

"Arun have put out a statement saying residents are accusing them of trying to close the town hall. That’s not what their concerns are. Their concerns are that, because of the new system, a lot of people in this town are going to suffer because they can’t walk in. I’ve had a few people get in touch with me about this, one went in a few weeks ago and they were told ‘if you’re not homeless and it’s not a housing matter, you’ve got to phone and make an appointment.

"I understand the world moves on, but there’s quite a significant portion of our population that can’t use the internet, that aren’t comfortable sitting on the phone for 45 minutes to book an appointment.”

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