Shropshire Council is working with partners to re-design face to face customer focused services, and to create places where residents can easily access services and get information and advice that both helps them and enables them to help others within their community. This approach will help us to create and maintain resilient communities at a time of reducing public service budgets and increasing pressure on services due to the changing demographics of the county.
Important elements of the resilient communities approach are the creation and development of community hubs, places where the health and well-being of individuals and communities will be supported by the provision of advice, information and signposting at an early stage.
Our vision is that traditional face to face services will be delivered by town and parish councils or community enterprises that are active within those communities. Town and Parish Councils are the first tier of local government. They provide communities with a democratic voice and a structure for taking community action. A community enterprise is the same as a social enterprise, i.e. an organisation trading for social purpose with any profits reinvested rather than going to shareholders and provides benefits to a particular local neighbourhood or community and is an organisation run for the community. These enterprises are best placed to utilise their links into communities and therefore maximise every contact that is made with them.
Our approach is also linked to making savings, and to working to ensure that we find ways to continue to deliver high quality services that provide positive outcomes for individuals and communities, but at a lower cost.
Over the last year Shropshire Council and Shifnal Town Council have been discussing and developing opportunities for new ways of delivering and improving services in Shifnal. This includes the management of the library service and customer service point, the re-location of the town council offices and the transfer of certain assets including the Aston Street allotments, some public open spaces (Admirals Close, Dyas Close, Beech Drive [2 areas], Laburnum Close, Wyke Way [3 areas], Careswell Gardens, Bridgnorth Road, Applebrook [4 areas]), and car parks (Aston Street and Kings Yard).
Shropshire Council’s preferred proposal for the future delivery of the library service and customer service point in Shifnal is to transfer the responsibility for their day to day management to Shifnal Town Council. This would result in the existing services continuing to be delivered in their current location at Broadway. Shropshire Council’s library service would continue to provide the books, library management system and the support of a librarian based in Bridgnorth. The library would be run under an agreed Service Level Agreement between Shropshire Council and Shifnal Town Council. The existing staff would become employees of the Town Council and the opening hours would remain the same.
The proposal includes extending the opening hours for local residents to access Shropshire Council services via a freephone facility or to do their business on-line via a dedicated public computer. Library and Town Council staff will be on hand for anyone who needs help.
Alongside this the public open spaces, allotment and car parks listed above would be transferred to Shifnal Town Council.
Supported by some relatively minor changes to the internal spaces of the building Shifnal Town Council would also move its existing rented offices into the library.
Both Shropshire Council and Shifnal Town Council believe that this approach provides the best way to improve financial efficiency of the existing services (for both organisations), to sustain them over the long term and to develop them in a way that best meets the needs of the local community.
The second proposal included in the consultation document is that Shifnal Library continues to be run by Shropshire Council. Under this proposal and to make the same savings as the preferred option the hours that the library is open would be reduced from the current 20.5 hours per week to 12 hours per week. Public open spaces, the allotment and the car parks would continue to be owned and managed by Shropshire Council.
Shropshire Council is now seeking responses to these proposals. No formal decision has yet been made and there is an opportunity for alternative proposals to be made. The information we receive through the consultation will be used to inform any decision made on the future delivery of the library service, public open spaces, allotment and car parks.
When considering these proposals it will be helpful to bear in mind Shropshire Council’s vision for community hubs and the role of libraries in the future, and also what the Council’s statutory duties to deliver libraries are.
A set of Frequently Asked Questions is available alongside this consultation document and a display of the proposals will be set-up in the library.
The potential impact of the preferred proposal on users of these services and assets, particularly those who might be impacted more by any change, is assessed through the completion of an Equality and Social Inclusion Impact Assessment.
As part of the consultation there will be an Opening Evening in the library on Wednesday, 14 October between 5pm and 7pm, where representatives of both Shropshire Council and Shifnal Town Council will be in attendance to answer questions and provide information.
To take part, please read through the proposals first, and then complete our short survey, available on the "How to get involved" tab at the top of this page.
The results of the consultation will be collated, analysed and considered by Shropshire Council and used to inform any decision making on the future delivery of the library and other services in Shifnal.
Option One
The transfer of assets and the management of the library to Shifnal Town Council (this is our preferred option)
Shropshire Council will transfer the day to day running of Shifnal Library and Customer Service Point to Shifnal Town Council, who will provide the same range of library and Customer Service Point services currently available under a 3 year Service Level Agreement. The library and Customer Service Point will remain in its existing location at Broadway, Shifnal. The opening hours of the library will remain as currently.
Some alterations to the Shifnal Library building will be made to create office space for Shifnal Town Council, providing the opportunity for Shifnal Town Council to become more visible and thereby more accessible to the public. This will provide the opportunity to refurbish the library with movable shelving and to create a more modern flexible space.
Support for the customer service provision would be improved to align with the full library opening hours. The Customer Service function for Shropshire Council and Shifnal Town Council will become more integrated and seamless for the public while still maintaining sufficient space for library services.
This approach will provide the best chance for the development of the library and associated information and advice services to reflect local community circumstances and for the library services to be retained and sustained into the future.
The Aston Street allotments will be transferred to Shifnal Town Council and managed with the other existing two allotment sites in Priorslee Road and Broadway and the future allotments on the Haughton Road development. This would provide uniformity in terms of operation, charges and local control.
A number of public open spaces will be transferred to Shifnal Town Council and be managed and maintained in line with their existing greenspaces specification by a local contractor employed by Shifnal Town Council. Concerns and issues would be handled more rapidly and thereby the community would get increased quality areas of greenspaces around Shifnal.
The management of the car parks will be transferred to Shifnal Town Council who will maintain them to the level that the local community expect and would safeguard their use as car parks. The operation of the car parks would reflect the needs of the local community in terms of introducing charges and/or other restrictions which might be deemed appropriate.
It is important for consultees to understand that the individual elements within this proposal are interdependent and whilst comments can be made on the different elements they must be considered as one when consultees state whether they agree with the proposal or not.
Anticipated savings to Shropshire Council from these proposals - £7,000 pa
Anticipated savings to Shifnal Town Council from these proposals - £15,320 pa
Option 2
Library and assets stay under the management of Shropshire Council
Shifnal Library will continue to be run by Shropshire Council’s library service with the hours that the library is staffed reduced from the current 20.5 hours per week to 12 hours per week.
Existing dedicated Customer Service Point provision will be withdrawn. However, as with option 1 support for local residents to access Shropshire Council services will be provided via a freephone facility and a dedicated public computer. The library and town council staff will also be on hand for anyone who needs help.
There will be no internal changes to the building and the Shifnal Town Council office would remain in is current location.
The on-going management of the allotment, public open spaces and car parks will remain the responsibility of Shropshire Council.
Within this option there is a recognition that further financial pressure may come on the library and other assets and the on-going review of provision will be necessary.
Anticipated savings to Shropshire Council from these proposals - £7,000 pa
Anticipated savings to Shifnal Town Council from these proposals - Zero