CALLINGTON Town Council will be hosting a new Cornwall Council self-serve information service in the town hall from the end of this month.

The new, free, self-service facilities include two computers for accessing Cornwall Council services online, a phone to contact council services, and a post box for mail for council services.

The town hall office, on New Road in Callington, is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 2pm.

The new council information service will be available from Monday, September 26, with assistance to help customers use the facilities on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

For each day the service opens at 9.30am and finishes at 1.30pm.

Andrew Long, Mebyon Kernow Cornwall Councillor for Callington, said: “It is no secret that government cuts to local council funding is affecting many areas.

“The residents in the sparsely populated area around Callington rely on services such as the One Stop Shop and library, and the town council has worked hard together with Cornwall Council to ensure that these services remain, at least in some form, for the community to use.

“We would all have preferred the current system to remain the same, but the reality is that with 40% cuts needed in the service, we have to accept that some things will change. We will work together to ensure, as best we can, that the new service works for the community.

“The town council has been very proactive in ensuring services, cut elsewhere in the Duchy, are preserved and in the past few years have stepped in to save the public toilets in the town, as well as taking over grass cutting and weeding.

“Thanks should also go to the volunteers who have applied to provide a meet and greet service once the self-service facility is up and running; another example of the community coming together when needed.”

Mark Smith, Callington’s portreeve and mayor, said:

“Callington is not only home to around 6,000 people but is a regional centre for a number of smaller villages and settlements.

“The town offers a diverse range of shops and businesses, a variety of attractions such as the Mural Trail and is a lead council in sustaining, enhancing and devolving services where possible.

“The town hall complex already provides excellent facilities for our community. However, we recognise and appreciate that access to Cornwall Council is changing, to reflect the modern way of working and their budget constraints. We are happy to be able to host the new Cornwall Council Information Service in an effort to keep access to all services for our residents.”

The new information service will replace the previous One Stop Shop service.

This is the first service to transfer to a town council as part of Cornwall Council’s library and one stop shop devolution programme, which is helping councils and communities take over local ownership, management and control of services and assets, at a time of what Cornwall Council has described as ‘unprecedented budget challenges’ for local government.

Geoff Brown, Cornwall Council cabinet member for communities is responsible for library and one stop shop services.

He said: “We are very grateful to Callington Town Council for hosting a new information service that will replace the current One Stop Shop. The new facility at the town hall will be ‘self-service’ with support from library and one stop shop staff for three months, and after that volunteers will assist people to use the new self-serve facilities.

“We will still be working with our residents to resolve issues and we can arrange face to face meetings at a mutually convenient time and location if necessary.

“The town council have recently taken over two public toilets in Callington and I applaud their enthusiasm and positive approach to providing and safeguarding public services for their community.”

The Callington office will no longer be able to take financial payments like rent and council tax — although everyone will still be able to make payments online on the council’s website: www.cornwall.gov.uk as well as by phone, direct debit, and using ‘All Pay’ machines in the post office and local shops.

Callington Library will remain open as usual for normal library services.

The library is open from 9.30am to 5pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and from 10am to 1pm on a Sunday.