A new customer service office has opened in Sudbury as Babergh and Mid Suffolk councils prepare to move their main operations to Ipswich where they will share Suffolk’s Endeavour House headquarters.

A new arrangement with the town council will allow Babergh and Mid Suffolk residents to access their district council services in Sudbury Town Hall, with access on Gaol Lane, without requiring any prior appointment.

Residents will be able to visit the Town Hall to access services between 9am and 12.30pm, or between 1.30pm and 5pm, Monday to Thursday. On Fridays the service will be available between 9am and 12.30pm and between 1.30pm and 4.30pm.

The new service was officially launched on Friday 20 October by Kathryn Grandon, Vice Chairman of Babergh District Council, who was joined at Sudbury Town Hall by Tina Campbell, Babergh’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, Sarah Page, Mayor of Sudbury and local ward member Jan Osborne.

The Councils’ Public Access Strategy, adopted in September last year, is designed to ensure residents can access council services in the most convenient way for them. The Councils have therefore introduced a new website and single phone number for all customer enquiries – 0300 1234 000. However, the Councils recognise that some residents will still need to access services face to face, and the option to visit Sudbury Town Hall ensures they can do so.

This also ensures that residents in the district will continue to be able to access all council services at a local ‘walk in’ centre in the districts when the councils’ headquarters move to Endeavour House in Ipswich later this year.

Mrs Grandon said: “In every sector, services and engagement are moving online. This can be quick, easy and convenient for thousands of people, but we can’t forget that for some people this isn’t an option. We must ensure that our residents always have the option of accessing our services face to face, and now they can come into Sudbury Town Hall to do just that. We’re determined that everyone in the districts will be able to access our services quickly and conveniently. This new service in just part of our work to guarantee help and advice is on hand, all through the week.

“Thank you to SSarah Page and her team in the Town Hall, who have worked so closely with us at Babergh to make this new option for our residents possible.”