Warwickshire News Mine

‘Warwickshire Direct – Stockingford’, a one stop shop which brings Warwickshire County Council and Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council services together, launched its services to the public at Stockingford Early Years Centre and Library, on St. Paul’s Road, yesterday (Monday 2nd November).

The latest One Stop Shop to be launched in Warwickshire, Stockingford is unique in its location and is seen as an ideal place to ‘bridge the gap’ and provide the community with improved access to a wide range of services.

Councillor Alan Farnell, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, and Christine Kerr, Chief Executive of Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council led the official opening celebrations and ‘cutting of the cake’ to mark the occasion.

One stop shops providing joint access to borough and county council services are already successfully operating in other parts of the borough, with ‘Warwickshire Direct’ branches at Nuneaton Town Hall and King’s House in Bedworth - but this is a first for Stockingford.

‘Warwickshire Direct – Stockingford’ provides local people with a single point of access to library services, local information, advice and other important council services, all in a convenient location.

A team of friendly centre service advisors have been trained to answer people’s enquiries on a wide range of subjects – including social services assessments, disabled parking badges, council tax enquiries, housing enquiries, environmental health, refuse collections, planning, leisure services and a lot more.

All this is enhancing the usual services offered by Stockingford Early Years Centre and Library, which continues to provide a maintained nursery school and children’s centre including support for childminders, links to day-care provision, health visitors, access to adult education, family learning and a public library.

‘Warwickshire Direct – Stockingford’ is the latest phase of an exciting joint venture between Warwickshire County Council and Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council designed to make council services more accessible to local people.

It follows the success of other ‘Warwickshire Direct’ one stop shops around the county in locations including Alcester, Atherstone, Kenilworth, Lillington, Stratford, Southam, Warwick and Whitnash.

From today (Tuesday 3rd November), ‘Warwickshire Direct – Stockingford’ is open:
Monday   08:00 – 18:00
Tuesday   08:00 – 18:00
Wednesday   08:00 – 18:00
Thursday   08:00 – 18:00
Friday       08:00 – 18:00
Saturday   10:00 – 13:00
Sunday   Closed

Councillor Alan Farnell, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “Our partnership working with Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council to provide ‘Warwickshire Direct’ one stop shops in Nuneaton and Bedworth town has been a huge success.

“I am delighted that residents in Stockingford will now also reap the benefits of having a single point of contact for local services on their doorstep.”

Councillor Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Customers, Workforce & Governance, said: “The aim is to bring a range of services, including county council services, closer to people in Stockingford and I am sure that the new ‘Warwickshire Direct’ one stop shop will achieve that. It addition to the Early Years Centre and Library, it will be another fantastic facility for local residents.”

Peter Gilbert, Leader of Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, said: “This joint venture will mean that we can offer a more rounded service to residents in Stockingford who are in need of help and support without them having to visit more than one council, and be able to link to a borough service whilst they are enquiring about a county service and vice versa.

“For example, the ‘Warwickshire Direct - Stockingford’ advisers have been trained so they can answer customer enquiries about Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council services such as refuse and recycling, and provide information on benefits and council tax.”

Marion Davis, Strategic Director for Children, Young People & Families at Warwickshire County Council, said: “The site of the new service is the Stockingford Early Years Centre and Library, which has operated for many years with a range of partners to support many families in the community. The Early Years Centre is keen to see the site used for further development of these vital services, so that the local community could make the best use of the centre and library by being able to find out so much more through ‘Warwickshire Direct’.

"It is a testament to the foresight of colleagues and partners that this innovative scheme has come to fruition and we look forward to the impact that this will have in the support of the families and the community who use the centre.”

Link to WCC