A COUNCIL run customer service centre will be closing fully after being closed over the summer.

Chelmsford City Council has decided to close the customer service centre in South Woodham Ferrers, as it has been decided that there is no longer a need within the community for the centre to reopen.

When the Centre opened in July 2013, things looked very different. To coincide with Essex County Council’s decision to relocate their information service to the library, Chelmsford City Council agreed to provide a different, more comprehensive service for residents, allowing them to do all of the things they could do at the Customer Service Centre in the City Centre at South Woodham Ferrers.

This included point of contact support for housing benefits, housing and council tax to meet the identified need. This was a five-year strategy and was supported by the intention to move as many transactions as possible on-line.

On analysing the visitor data, it has become clear that this strategy has been a success and many customers have already made the move to accessing and providing information on their smartphone or tablet.

All visits to the centre have reduced to a level where it is no longer feasible to have two members of staff located in the Centre.

Chelmsford City Council has therefore made the decision to close the Customer Service Centre in South Woodham Ferrers with immediate effect and use the resultant savings to further develop the support they give to customers.

For more information visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk