Church Stretton library provides access to the full range of library services. This includes a wide selection of books for all ages, DVDs, talking books on CD and large print books. There are free computer facilities with internet access and printing, plus an increasing selection of digital library resources. There is a Local History collection of reference and lending material, supported by a team of volunteers who can help with local/family history research. Regular library events include Rhyme Times for children, Time to Listen story sessions for adults, plus a varied range of author talks. There is a team of volunteers who deliver library books to housebound readers. All these services are underpinned by trained library staff who are committed to giving the best possible customer service.

Shropshire Libraries are looking at how library services can be embedded in to the communities that they serve in a sustainable and cost-effective way. This is against the backdrop of a savings target of £1.3 million for the library service. The proposal for Church Stretton is to work in partnership with South Shropshire Academy Trust to provide a library located at Church Stretton School. The aim would be to provide a vibrant and modern library facility that meets the needs of the whole community including pupils and staff at the school and members of the public.

The new library would be situated in an existing extension at the front of the school, and this extension would be refurbished specifically for the purpose. The library would benefit from longer opening hours, better IT equipment including WIFI, convenient ‘self-service’ facilities backed up by library staff, and a more modern flexible space.

The school and the library service would be jointly committed to providing all the existing library functions. Further to this, a joint approach would offer opportunities to develop services that would appeal to a wider range of the community than is currently served by either library. The result for Church Stretton would be a strong library service with a secure future.    

Will there be any dedicated parking at the school?

There is parking at the school and at the leisure centre, and there will be disabled bays specifically for the library.

How will people with limited mobility and on transport be able to access library services?

The library would have a provision for disabled parking, ramped access and disabled toilet facilities. The school minibus could also be used to provide a shuttle service from the town centre for a small fee. The Mayfair Centre could also be set up as a pick up/drop off point for library stock. The existing volunteer service (currently 15 volunteers) for housebound readers would be maintained, with a view to developing it further.

Why can’t the library be located in the town centre e.g. at the Mayfair Centre

Discussions have taken place around the idea of locating the library within the planned Health and Well Being centre next to Mayfair. However the space that would have been available for the library was just too small and the library stock would have been dramatically reduced as a result.

Why can’t the library stay where it is?

Due to budget reductions, the budget available for Church Stretton library will not be sufficient to maintain the existing service in the current location. If the library were to remain where it is the floorspace would have to decrease by a minimum of 50% and the opening hours would have to reduce with the maximum opening likely to reduce to 2.5 days per week.

How do these proposals for the library actually save money?

The library service will save money on staffing and building costs by locating within the school and operating as a joint service.

How will public access in to a school building be managed?

Access and safeguarding considerations are a top priority, with a separate controlled access door for pupils.

Who would be paying for the building work at the school?

The required work would be partly funded by a Transformation Challenge Award (awaiting outcome of application), with the balance coming from various other funding sources that are currently being approached.

How will the library activities tie in with school activities?

The vision is for a community library that is accessible to all, with activities organised accordingly. Some activities might be for the public, others might be for pupils, but a joint approach would seek to provide activities for the community as a whole be they pupils or members of the public.

How will access be provided for younger children and how will the provision better cater for their needs.

Close proximity to the Primary School and Nursery will be an advantage to the parents of younger children, making it easier to visit the library at the same time. Younger children are a priority audience for the library service and this would continue no matter what the location of the library. Specific activities and events would be provided with support from the relevant specialist Shropshire Libraries staff.

What will the opening hours be?

We are not in a position to be able to confirm opening hours at this stage, but a reduction in overall hours of service is not anticipated.

When will this happen?

The target would be for completion in the 2015 / 16 financial year.

How will the library be staffed if it moves to the school?

The library would be operated by paid members of staff who would be employed by the school. One is a qualified librarian. This would also be in partnership with the Shropshire Council Library network which will be subject to a Service Level Agreement (SLA). 

We are keen to retain the numerous volunteers who currently support the library in various ways including delivery of books to housebound readers, local history advice, and help with events. We would expect the student librarians to assist as well.

Transport issues – how will the school minibus work, what happens when it is in use by the school etc

The public bus stops outside the school every hour. The school mini bus will would operate 4 times a day running from the Co-op. These times would be reviewed depending on demand, usage and feedback

Are there going to be dedicated parking areas?

There would be ten dedicated parking bays and three disabled bays at the rear of the library. At present there are approximately ten bays at the library and one disabled space.

Will it be open during school holidays, after school hours, weekends, evenings and will there be public exclusions?

The library would be open through the holiday. The detail of opening hours is to be decided, but the school foresees longer opening hours than the current library hours, over 6 days a week and with an evening opening once a week.

Budgets – what is the current running cost, what will be the future running costs, what would be budget look like with reduced opening hours at the current site? What would the costs be at an alternative town centre location?

The overall library budget for Church Stretton is approximately £55,000. Leaving things as they are will not result in savings, so this is not a viable option due to the level of savings required for the library service as a whole. Reducing library opening hours at the current site to 2 and a half days per week will result in an approximate staff saving of £10,000. This will not be a sufficient saving. On the current site the size of the library potentially could be reduced and the resulting space rented out to another service or organisation, however and it would be likely that some level of internal alteration to the building would be required and there is no guarantee that a suitable tenant could be found. With the school proposal the full library budget of £55,000 would be saved. The school would employ the appropriate number of library staff. The library service would not be paying any rent to the school, or any other payments for delivery of the service. The library service would continue to provide library stock, the library management system, plus professional input and support. Currently no other potential sites have been identified. As mentioned in the FAQ document, initial discussions did take place with the Mayfair Centre with a view to locating the library within the Health and Well-being Centre development. However there is simply not enough available space to provide a suitable library service for the town.

Do safeguarding issues impact the viability of this proposal?

This is obviously a major issue for the school. It would operate very much as it does at the leisure centre with separate access for students and public. Inner doors would be closed when required during breaks and lunchtimes but during the day and other times students using the library would be supervised by staff.

Why can’t charges be made for people to use the library / computers?

The 1964 Library and Museums Act state that there is a statutory requirement for the loan of books to be free of charge. Free access to computers and the internet is also a key part of the public library offer.

Charges are already levied for a variety of library services including loan of talking books and DVDs, printing and photocopying, placing requests.

How would the work to adapt the school be paid for?

If the proposal progresses, an external grant sourced by Shropshire Council is available to support some of the costs of the work as long as this results in transformed services delivered at a lower cost. The remaining funds would be sourced from other external funding sources that are currently being considered.

When would this happen?

If the proposal is implemented, the target would be for completion in the 2015 financial year, during the school summer holidays.   

Church Stretton’s Customer Service Point is currently located in the Town Library together with the Visitor Information Centre.

The Customer Services Department helps people to access their Shropshire Council services, with things like applications for Blue Badges and Bus Passes, planning, Council Tax and Housing Benefit enquiries being the most popular reasons for calling in to see us.

We understand the importance of a face to face service to many of our customers who may not be able to use alternative means of doing business such as over the telephone or online or who may need help to use these alternatives. 

As with other departments, we need to make budgetary savings across our operation which spans the whole of the Shropshire area but we want to do so in a way that does not diminish the level of service that people can access in their locality.

We are looking at new and attractive ways of providing help in order for us to meet our budgetary targets, otherwise we would face having to reduce our services in Church Stretton to just one day a week.    

We want to make sure that people are still able to get the direct help they need, when they need it and we therefore propose working in partnership with other providers of help and advice in the town. By doing this, people will be able to access a much wider range of help and services than we currently offer. 

We are proposing that we locate our new Customer Service Provision across two familiar and respected sites in the community that local people are used to accessing – the Town Council offices and the Mayfair Centre.

We propose that a customer freephone, linked to our telephony centre and the most popular services that people need to access, together with a public computer on which to conduct online Council business, be installed in the Town Council offices as we recognise that many people already call there to report issues and seek advice on services. Town Council staff will be on hand to offer customers the help they need.

Additionally, we propose installing the same equipment in the Mayfair Centre with the same help on offer to those customers who need it.

Shropshire Council Customer Services staff will be available for one day a week in the Mayfair Centre on an appointment basis, should this be needed, to help with any customer whose needs cannot be met by the centre staff.

In this way, those customers willing and able to use self-service facilities will have them provided free of charge whilst those who need help to use our services will still have that help on hand.       

Will I still need to go to the library to get my blue badge and bus pass?

No, you will be able to get help to do access these services at the Mayfair Centre.

What happens if I need help to fill out a form?

Help will be available at the Mayfair Centre for those customers who aren’t able to manage forms

I can’t use a computer, how will I get help with what I need?

When you see someone at a Customer Service Point they usually do what is needed via their computer so don’t worry if you can’t use one yourself because the same help will be available at the new sites. 

If I use the phone at the new points of contact who does it get me through to?

The phones are linked directly to Shropshire Council’s Customer Service Centre

What sort of services can I get over the phone?

We can provide almost all of the same services over the phone including making payments.

Will the Town Council be increasing its opening hours?

Yes, the office will be open 10 – 1pm and 2 – 4.30pm Monday to Friday.

When will this happen?

We would aim to be in operation at the two new locations by April 2015

Is this to be delivered by qualified staff?

We will install customer phones that link the caller directly through to trained and very experienced Shropshire Council advisers. Church Stretton Town Council staff are already experienced in dealing with a number of customer enquiries, likewise, Mayfair Centre also possess the skills and knowledge that will be needed. All staff would receive the appropriate training from Shropshire Council’s advisers.

Are the organisations getting paid for this?

Yes, we would expect to make an appropriate contribution towards office and staffing costs to both Church Stretton Town Council and the Mayfair Centre.

Who will the staff be that deliver this?

From Church Stretton Town Council perspective, our existing receptionist of 12 years Rachel James, plus additional support from Trish Morris, PA to Clerk would provide this service.

At Mayfair the customer service offer will be delivered by a mixture of staff and volunteers. The MAYSI team and Housing Support Officer already help people to access support services from the council and assist people with applying for blue badges etc.

How does this proposal save money?

With this proposal Shropshire Council would be able to make considerable savings compared to the costs of staffing and running the current library location.

Why are two locations being proposed?

To reflect the natural footfall of both organisations and to ensure a comprehensive service is provided – everything from reporting a faulty street light to one to one support with organising a care assessment.  Church Stretton Town Council has been monitoring the type and nature of its enquiries over the last four months, and has a very clear picture of the type of enquiry made at the office.  A large percentage of these are already relate to Shropshire Council  services, but the town council has traditionally taken a view that any enquiry can be reported and we will do our best to help.  The town council’s figures clearly show that it deals with a larger volume of enquiries related to Shropshire Council services than the library itself does

Shropshire Council Customer Services operates the Visitor Information Centre (VIC) in the Library building. With the likely transfer of this building to a new tenant, a new location and operator for the Visitor Information service is being sought. The service has about 8,000 users per year.

The overall purpose of the Visitor Information Centre operation is to help to increase the value of tourism to the county’s economy i.e. increase the amount of money that visitors spend in Shropshire in order to support businesses, services and employment.

VICs mainly do this by making it easier and more enjoyable for visitors to spend time and money in Shropshire, both in the planning stage and during the visit, for example:

• Helping visitors find out about the attractions, facilities, walks and services that are available
• Providing visitors with accurate, good quality information so that they can make the best choices for themselves
• Offering booking services and sales
• Suggesting additional activities, services and more that might interest the visitor – taking an active approach to ‘selling’ the attractions of the area
• Inspiring confidence and enthusiasm for Shropshire in the visitor by giving excellent customer service
• VICs also have a role in gathering, using and sharing where appropriate, customer intelligence and data to inform tourism marketing and development.
• Collecting and recording statistics

As the only town within the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Church Stretton welcomes many thousands of visitors each year. The current location of the VIC is not ideal and a more central location in the town would better serve the needs of visitors.

Activities undertaken and information provided at the current VIC include;

• Attractions, events, walks, activities and places of interest
• Accommodation - a bed booking service for accommodation both in the local area and throughout the country
• Transport enquiries, especially bus timetables
• Churches and church services
• Shops, businesses, restaurants and pubs
• Estate agencies, and information about the local area for people thinking of relocating
• Detailed information for those thinking of starting up B&B or self-catering businesses
• Brochures covering the whole country for local people planning their holidays
• Guide books, OS maps, souvenirs and gifts for sale

It is open 6 days per week with a reduction in hours during the winter months.

Our proposal is to transfer the delivery of visitor information to a town centre based organisation(s). This will address the long held desire locally for the service to be in a visible, central position to make access easier and increase the impact of visitors on the local economy. 

An initial letter seeking expressions of interest has been circulated and there were a number of positive responses, so we are confident that this is a viable proposal to put forward.  It may be the case that the new service can be delivered from more than one location. We will consider these initial expressions of interest carefully before entering in to a formal procurement process.

The new operator(s) will be expected to provide a high quality Visitor Information service 7 days a week in the period Easter to end September and 6 days a week for the rest of the year in Church Stretton town centre on behalf of the Council. The service will be operated under a 3-year Service Level Agreement between the Council and the operator(s) to whom a fee would be payable. The size of this fee has yet to be agreed. The new operator(s) would be given the opportunity to take on the telephone and email enquiries but these could be answered in an alternative way elsewhere.

Where is the Visitor Information Centre to be located and how would this compare to the existing service?

The Visitor Information Centre will be located within an existing organisation based in the town centre. Further details regarding exact location and comparison of services are not available as yet as a procurement process will be undertaken. The tendering will include outcomes to be delivered i.e. what is expected, which will form the conditions to the agreement /contract. However we would expect the new operator(s) to be able to provide for the needs of the vast majority of the current users of Church Stretton VIC. It is anticipated that there would be no requirement to offer an accommodation booking service but this will be reviewed in the light of consultations. Business enquiries would be handled by other Council staff. Enquiries about re-location to Shropshire can be handled by Customer Services telephone enquiry service.

Will visitor information be open / available at weekends?

Yes, a condition of the contract would be for weekend opening in the period from Easter to end September although we cannot confirm opening hours at this point.  

What other options were considered for the visitor information?

The option was considered to leave the VIC where it is if the AONB Partnership were to take on the lease of the library building.  However, as the VIC is jointly staffed by Customer Services staff it would have to reduce its operating hours in line with Customer Services and would therefore not be able to deliver an appropriate service for the town.

When will this happen?

We would aim to be operating from a new venue by June 2015.

Will there be a telephone and email service?

Yes, it is envisaged there will be a telephone and email service, but this could be delivered by an alternative organisation.

Will there be a bed booking service?

It is unlikely that this service would continue.

Could Visitor Information be provided in more than one location and by more than one organisation?

Yes, it is possible that more than one organisation could deliver elements of the visitor information offer.

What will the service look like? Will it just be racks in shops?

We are working in partnership to develop a specification, designed in partnership with Church Stretton based tourism providers, containing opening hours, what the VIC service function will be and more. The Council will consider carefully the options put forward and make a decision based on Church Stretton’s requirements. The organisation that is best placed to deliver a VIC service against the town’s specification will be chosen.

Would there be trained staff to deliver this?

Staff and volunteer training will be part of the new arrangements that are put in place. The staff and any volunteers will be from the organisation(s) contracted to deliver the service.