There will be disruption to services provided by the city council while building work is undertaken to create a new space within the library in central Oxford.

In January last year, Oxford City Council’s face-to-face customer services moved to Oxfordshire County Council’s central library in the Westgate Centre.

Now, given the overall success of the three-day-a-week service, which has been offered for the past 18 months alongside Citizens’ Advice and county council services at the same venue, the city council has confirmed work is about to start on a new space within the library that will offer better privacy and more confidentiality.

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During the 18 months, there have been over 6,800 face-to-face visits from citizens, and the council has now agreed terms for a further three-year lease.

A council spokesperson said all citizens using the service were invited to leave feedback about their visit, with 99.9 per cent being happy to do so, and 98 per cent saying they were satisfied with the service.

The spokesperson also said during the building work the council asks the public only consider visiting if they have an urgent enquiry that cannot be dealt with over the telephone.

People can contact the council through its website www.oxford.gov.uk or by phoning the contact centre on 01865 249811.

Business as usual will resume from Monday, July 31.

Councillor Nigel Chapman, cabinet member for citizen focused services and council companies, said: “The customer service move to Oxford Central Library has proved a great success, but we’re not resting on our laurels.

“Working in collaboration with our partners to provide better services to citizens is right at the heart of our Citizen Experience Strategy, and this is therefore clearly the way forward.

“We want to improve the service, and we’ll be doing that by providing more private areas for face-to-face meetings. There will be some short-term disruption but I’m sure our service users will understand that this minor inconvenience will lead to an improved service for at least the next three years at the central library.”

Chris O’Hare, chief officer at Citizens Advice said: “There is huge benefit in working alongside the city and county councils at the library and it is a great central location for residents to access the support they need.

“The new area will have greater privacy, which will be appreciated for those clients needing help who may have to share personal information about their health, income, money, employment problems or relationship breakdown.”

Mark McCree, service manager for Libraries and Heritage at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “We’re pleased to be extending this collaborative working arrangement with Oxford City Council, which has been a great success so far.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1