Swindon libraries to be used as council service hubs

Swindon Borough Council saw a reduction in face-to-face interactions as more residents choose online services

Libraries are set to be used by council staff to offer face-to-face advice to residents from the New Year.

Swindon Borough Council is proposing moving staff from Wat Tyler House to the five core libraries it runs.

The council has seen a large drop-off in face-to-face enquiries and hopes the move will make its services easier to access.

Under the plans, staff would work from the Central Library, Highworth, North Swindon Park, and West Swindon.

According to a council report, more residents have been choosing to access online services and there has been a significant reduction in face-to-face interactions.

The council currently receives 200 face-to-face enquiries per month at its customer contact centre - 28% of the volume received before the pandemic.

Most in-person enquiries relates to blue badges, parking permits and bus passes, the report said.

Councillor Dale Heenan said: "The service will be the same, but it'll be much easier to access - if you're in the centre get to the central library, if you're in Freshbrook you can go to West Swindon Library."

The cabinet member for libraries Oladapo Ibitoye was happy with the proposal, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The cabinet approved the main plan and staff are expected to be deployed to the five core libraries in January.