Mixed reaction to Shropshire Council office closure plans
Councillors and residents say they are concerned about plans to close a series of council customer service offices.
Shropshire Council has just launched a public consultation to garner opinion on plans to close the offices following a dramatic decline in the number of people using them.
While some say they can see the theory behind the plans, others are concerned it will lead to an alienation of those who currently make use of the service and prefer a face-to-face interaction.
Oswestry Mayor, Councillor Sandy Best, said: "I am extremely concerned, for both those who use the service and the staff. The cut to just two days a week is ludicrous.
"When the community hub opened at Oswestry library there was a great deal said about how important it was.
"My worry is not only for a large group of older people who do not use the internet but also people for whom English is not their first language.
"They appreciate being able to speak to someone face-to-face."
Malcolm Pate, who represents Albrighton on Shropshire Council, said a loss of facility is always a bad thing - unless the facility is no longer cost effective to run.
"I'd be against any loss of facilities, and if the service is being used it's not the correct thing to do to close services," he said.
"If they're badly used they're not cost effective to run and we need to save money."
Roy Aldcroft, who represents Market Drayton East on Shropshire Council and who also sits on Market Drayton Town Council, said: "We are a growing town. The service point is one of the main accesses for all the people who don't use computers or who prefer face to face discussions over phone calls or the internet.
"It's always a difficult choice when you are running low on funds. I would be interested to see how the consultation comes out."
Shifnal Councillor Kevin Turley, said: "My personal opinion is that the more people who can get this kind of service the better. But from the council's perspective they're constantly dealing with these budget cuts so I think us councillors will have to step up.
"I think as long as we stay active on social media and online in general, it will almost be like a face to face service but just through a screen.
"I can't see a reason why the council shouldn't be able to deal with this, I myself am more than happy to deal with residents calls all day everyday.
"Every service that gets cut gets missed, but as long as there's the support out there for the residents, and I'd like to hope it will be, I think the appropriate support will still be available to all residents that need it.
"I would love to see a fairer funding to rural counties and then we would be able to afford to deliver more of these services, but the cut backs we have to face are simply horrendous and we've got to adapt to deal with them."
Tim Gill, Mayor of Ludlow, said that personally he thought that if the offices had been able to open on a Saturday, there would have been no need for the cuts.
He said: "People have said to me that if the offices had been open at more convenient times they would have used it and we would not be in this situation."
