Buckinghamshire Council has finalised plans for how residents can visit the council face to face in the Chesham and Amersham area from early next year.
Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet has today agreed the proposals, meaning 'Council Access Points' will be open in both towns from January as the phased closure of the council's King George V House offices in Amersham begins. As part of the new approach, Chesham Library is being refurbished to upgrade the current library space. The 'Council Access Point' currently at King George V House in Amersham will move to the newer Amersham Library across the road at the Chilterns Lifestyle Centre.
Council staff who were previously based at King George V House will move to office space in High Wycombe, with a new 'touchdown' point at Chesham. Staff at the Council Access Points in Chesham and Amersham will be able to answer general queries about council services, and can help residents report, pay for, or apply for a council service using the computers on site.
John Chilver is Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources. He said: "This plan meets many aims so I'm really pleased to be in a position to confirm the details. We know that while it's quicker and easier for most people to contact the council online, that to some people it's really important to have that face-to-face interaction, so I'm pleased that we will be providing those face-to-face contact points in Chesham and Amersham, funded entirely by the money saved by closing the King George V building.
It means we continue to have that customer presence in both Amersham and Chesham plus we are delivering significant savings for the council taxpayer by closing the Amersham office. Office-based staff at the council now combine home working with a minimum of two days in the office so we want to make sure we're making the best use of the office space we provide - and maximising value for money - now working habits have changed since the pandemic.
This has been a long-term goal as part of the financial savings made by becoming a single unitary council. Rationalising our office estate has been an important part of that savings programme."
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