Our Move To New Central Offices At Chicksands
Mid Beds District Council plans to keep up with modern day demands and improve those services local people use most: refuse collection, planning and leisure facilities.
We can do this by saving your money in other areas: for example through improving the efficiency of our office space and working practices.
Most people contact the council by phone, email or post. Fewer than 5% of the local population ever call in to our offices. So we are looking to improve phone, email and postal access and we will have local information points in Ampthill and Biggleswade.
Why move offices?
One of the main barriers to working efficiently is that staff are in cramped conditions on two sites 15 miles apart. Neither site is adequate and time is wasted through travelling.
These existing buildings have high maintenance and energy costs, are not suitable for new technology and are expensive to make accessible to everyone.
Will Chicksands be better?
Yes. The design for the new offices ensure that they will:
· be energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and much cheaper to run;
· incorporate the cabling and ducting needed for communications technology;
· have adequate space for all Council staff now and in the foreseeable future;
· have space for other organisations to rent, so that we can more easily work in partnership; and
· include more accessible and improved meeting rooms for both Council and public hire.
Will the move increase my Council Tax?
No. Your Council Tax will not increase as a result of this move, nor will there be any effect on the funding of other Council projects. Indeed, the move will mean administration costs will reduce, rather than rise, and this in turn will help to ensure that future Council tax rises are kept to a minimum.
How will I get the information I need?
Staffed Local Information Points (LIPs) in Ampthill and Biggleswade will provide face-to-face contact. These facilities will be up and running before the move to Chicksands takes place.
The plan is to share the LIPs with other organisations to offer you a better, more comprehensive one-stop service. LIPs would be fully accessible to all and electronically linked to the main office to ensure all information is up to date.
The Chicksands offices will be within seven miles of 75% of the district’s residents and, together with the LIPs will bring Council services closer to many more people.
And work has already started to improve access to Chicksands by public transport.
How will the new building be funded?
Even with a very cautious view of the finances, the council believes the offices would pay for themselves within 13 years 3 months.
How? Through the sale of the two current sites, the significantly lower maintenance costs each year, the savings in staff time and improved efficiency resulting from all staff being on one site.
Currently, several thousand pounds of your Council Tax is lost in wasted staff time as council officers travel between the Ampthill and Biggleswade offices for meetings. Neither site is big enough to house everyone and millions more would need to be spent on repairs, improvements and access if the Council were to keep them. Even then, they would not be good enough; many staff already has to work in temporary buildings because there isn’t enough space.
Mid Beds is looking to the future and is willing to invest to secure the best services for its customers.
For more information contact:
Simon Redmore
Strategic Director
Mid Beds District Council
Fax: 01525 842236
e-mail simon.redmore@midbeds.gov.uk
* Download New Chicksands Office Inside (image/jpeg; 61kb)
* Download New Chicksands Office External (image/jpeg; 50kb)
