Agenda item

This report sets out the progress made in the proposals for a new Customer Service Centre at Grantham and seeks a number of recommendations in order to enable the delivery of the project.

Purpose of report

 

This report set out the progress made in the proposals for a new Customer Service Centre at Grantham and sought a number of resolutions in order to enable the delivery of the project.

 

Decision

 

That Cabinet:

 

1.    Approves the delivery of a new Customer Service Centre at Unit 1 The Picture House Grantham.

 

2.    Approves a budget of £350,000 to deliver the new Customer Service Centre.

 

3.    Approves an in-year budget amendment of £150,000 from the Local Priorities Reserve towards the required capital allocation.

 

4.    Approves the movement of £200,000 from the SK House Refurbishment budget in order to provide a funding contribution towards the Customer Service Centre project.

 

5.    Approves the commencement of the procurement process in order to appoint a contractor to undertake the fit out works.

 

6.    Delegates to the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for People and Communities and the Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement to enter into a construction contract in order to undertake the necessary works.

 

Alternative options considered and rejected

 

In order to provide a full and varied options analysis, a number of locations had been explored; the focus had primarily been on Council owned locations in an attempt to avoid incurring any new unnecessary external costs. This analysis reviewed the follow sites:

 

·       Unit 1 & 2– St Catherine’s Road

This location was considered for the previous partnership option, but that proposal incorporated both vacant units into one single space. This would be over and above the space required for the new Customer Service Provision and would not be financially viable as sole occupants.

 

·       Witham Room – South Kesteven House

Consideration had been given to reconfiguring the current meeting room in SK House, the Witham Room, into the Customer Service Centre. This would have resulted in the loss of further meeting space available to the Council and would have incurred significant cost associated with reconfiguration of the space.

 

 

 

·       Newton Room – Guildhall Arts Centre

The current temporary Customer Service Centre was located in the Guildhall Arts Centre; therefore options had been explored for keeping it in this building but in a different larger space. This room however did have disadvantages as it was a heavily used room by external companies, the Arts Centre, and the Council itself.

 

·       Museum – Ground Floor

The Museum was currently underutilised, so the option was explored to share this space with the museum trust. The space was too large for SKDC Customer Service provision alone and following discussion with the Museum Trust representatives it was evident the space available via a partnership would be insufficient for the Council’s needs.

 

·       Former Customer Service Centre – Abbey Gardens, St Peters Hill Office

This would have involved returning to the former Customer Service Centre, however the space was larger than the Customer Service Provision needed, and the building had now exchanged contract of sale.

 

·       Bus Station – Tenant Resource Centre

Officers had also explored the Tenant Resource Centre, as it is in the centre of town and is already in a building we already lease. There would however be significant costs to reconfigure this site into what we need, and due to the size of the room available, the Council would not be able to fit all of the minimum requirements needed for the Customer Service Centre in here.

 

·       Arts Centre – Current Temporary Location

The current arrangement for the Customer Service Centre in the Arts Centre was considered to be temporary, however thought had been given to remaining here, and operating as currently. There had already needed to be significant compromises in this space, which had been acceptable on a temporary basis, but would need addressing if we were to move to a more permanent solution.

 

An assessment had been undertaken and signed off due to the temporary location, however it was unlikely the current location would be approved as permanent location without significant reconfiguration of the space at a cost. There was currently some customer confusion as to where the Customer Service Centre was located, and utilising the room on a more permanent basis would result in a loss of income for the Arts Centre.

 

For all other options, data security needed to be considered. Currently teams received information from customers, which was taken back to the main offices, scanned, and returned to the customer. There would need to be a secure way of transporting this data from any building to the current SKDC offices at The Picture House.

For a number of the other options, installation of IT Infrastructure to connect to the SKDC network would be required.  IT is reliant on third party broadband / fiber connection. Reliance on an internet line which is dependent on strength, could result in a drop in connection – particularly where staff were using multiple applications.

 

Reasons for decision

 

The Council’s ambition remained to provide a front facing customer service functionas it was essential that residents of South Kesteven District had the opportunity to access direct and face to face support with Customer Service staff. This remained the ambition following the closure of the previous offices in Grantham.

 

The existing space at the Guildhall Arts Centre was constrained with limited scope foralteration or improvement and therefore could not accommodate all the desired service function to meet future operational needs. There was also a lack of waiting space available in this location.

 

The existing space was constrained by alternative tenancies and uses with multipleoccupations within the Guildhall Building.

 

Relocation to Unit 1 The Picture House would provide open and collaborative

space for staff and customers and would be in close proximity to the existing Council Offices. Design teams were working on the fit out of the space.

 

There would be a positive reputational impact in bringing the building into use withthe unit having been vacant since construction in 2019, whilst providing a positive response to customer feedback and creating a positive impression for corporate visitors.

 

The space can be used by other 3^rd party organisations – this would open up

opportunities for third sector and other partners to take occupancy of space anddevelop ‘themed’ days such as joint initiatives including cost of living, debt support and housing advice.

 

The following points were raised during debate:

 

·       The other vacant unit underneath the Picture House continued to be marketed; expressions of interest for the unit were being sought. The unit was also sited on the ‘One Public’ agenda which enabled other local authorities to identify an interest.

·       Most of the budget for the work was being moved from the budget line for the South Kesteven House refurbishment works. Whilst refurbishment works were needed at South Kesteven House, it was felt that the priority lay with the Customer Service Centre. Not all of the activity behind the works was within the gift of the Council, all parts of the supply chain would need to be operationally ready in order to meet the timescale suggested.

·       The indicative timescale within the report for moving to the new unit was felt to be accurate; however every effort would be made to tighten this timescale.

·       There were no issues with the current temporary location of the Customer Service Centre, it fulfilled the needs of residents and was fit for purpose. Risk assessments were carried out regularly and this would continue to be the case until staff were moved out of the Guildhall.

·       Many of the external costs related to bringing the unit into use as a Customer Service Centre were not related to fixtures and fittings.