The public is being reminded that council services will be moving to South Lakeland House / Kendal Town Hall later this month.
Work is being finalised to accommodate some services of Westmorland and Furness Council, which currently operate from County Hall, at South Lakeland House, which can be accessed from the one stop shop at the front of Kendal Town Hall. This replaces the previous entrance at the bottom of the yard.
The council’s Cabinet agreed in June to invest in South Lakeland House / Kendal Town Hall as its main Kendal base and close County Hall for its current purpose at the end of September, subject to a further review for any alternative future use. Since then, internal work has been ongoing to relocate services and approximately 50 staff based at County Hall.
The decision will see continued modernisation and investment into the council’s central Lowther Street anchor building to provide improved customer and staff facilities.
Most services currently based at County Hall will move to South Lakeland House with an interim solution being in place for the Archives service while a longer-term review is carried out.
Staff will continue to care for and manage archive collections held at County Hall. Public access will be facilitated at Kendal Library. Access will continue to be by appointment to reserve a space and request documents in advance. A facility for visitors to the Historic Environment Record will also be available at South Lakeland House by appointment.
Working closely with communities and The National Archives, a feasibility study and engagement will be undertaken to address the longer-term options for providing an Archive Service in Kendal.
Plans have already been put in place to ensure there will be no disruption to wedding plans. The Town Hall is already a successful licensed weddings venue and available for bookings.
The Register Office will relocate to Kendal Town Hall from Monday 30th September.
To facilitate this move, the registration offices at County Hall will be closed on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th September. (Ceremonies booked for County Hall on 27th September will go ahead as planned.)
The registration offices in Barrow and Penrith Offices will remain open as usual to cause as little disruption as possible.
Contact can still be made via email registration.service@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk or to the council’s customer service centre by phone on 0300 373 3300.
Other teams that will be moving to South Lakeland House by the end of the month include trading standards, highways, community development, cultural services, development control, environment and sustainability, ICT and business support. The building can be accessed from the one stop shop at the front of Kendal Town Hall. This replaces the previous entrance at the bottom of the yard.
Access to the public car park at County Hall will continue.
Cllr Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council Cabinet member for Highways, Assets and ICT, said:
“Our teams are currently making the necessary improvements, such as creating more desk space and meeting rooms, supported by the relevant technology, to facilitate a smooth move.
“This means more services will be located in one central Kendal location that has already benefited from significant investment to modernise and improve accessibility. This helps to build Westmorland and Furness Council’s one-team focus and develop our collaborative culture which is focussed on providing better services for the public.
“We are committed to delivering on the benefits of being a unitary council; using our assets effectively to deliver best value for money.”