Thursday Late Night Opening at Civic Centre
As part of a commitment to improving access to services for customers and supporting the night-time economy in the city, Exeter City Council will be staying open late on Thursdays from today (11 April).
The move comes as the Council recognises that some residents may wish to access services outside of ‘traditional’ office hours. In order to test the demand for this, the local authority will run a six-month trial to offer services to those that may find it more convenient to visit in the early evening.
The council is also committed to working with city centre retailers to develop the late night economy in the city centre and is helping to lead the way for other organisations to offer their services outside of traditional hours.
Councillor Ian Martin, Lead Councillor for Business Transformation and Human Resources, said: "We recognise that people who are employed will be potentially affected by the changes in benefits introduced by the government. They may also have to pay Council Tax for the first time, as a result of cuts to the funds that the Council receives from Government to pay Council Tax Benefit.
"We hope that by having the relevant services open until 7pm on Thursday it will make it easier for those who are working during the day and would like some advice or help, to come and speak to us."
The services that will be added to the Council's provsion on Thursday evening until 7pm are:
• Housing Benefits
• Housing Advice
• Housing Estates
• Housing Rents
• General Housing Enquiries
• Planning
• Parking
• Council Tax
• Business Rates
• Cleaning and Environmental Support Teams
Over the six-month trial the City Council will be gathering customer feedback to help understand what services are useful to its residents.
From 11 April the opening hours for telephone calls and face-to-face in the Customer Service Centre will be: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 8.30am-5pm and Thursday 8.30am-7pm.
