MELKSHAM Town Hall will be closed on Fridays from 1st November, as it has been agreed for the staff to work compressed hours during the rest of the week.
Staff working at the council will be moving to a four-day week, where they will work Monday to Thursday from 9am-5pm, with the town hall being shut on Friday.
Councillor Jon Hubbard said, “I am delighted to see this, I have been shouting from the roof tops for this [to happen] for, I don’t know how long!”
To ensure the public can still access council support on Fridays, the community information officer will potentially still screen calls.
The change was discussed at a meeting of Melksham Town Council, held on Monday 3rd October. At the meeting, cllr Graham Ellis said, “I don’t like the word compress, rather reduce the hours to the public but let’s look at it and say no, we are not only here for the seniors and the unemployed. Could we perhaps take a lesson from the library that are open once a week into the evening, to say six or seven o’clock?”
Town clerk, Linda Roberts, said that opening in the evening could be a possibility as long as there was more than one member of staff in the building. She said, “This could work, but I would not be happy for the town hall to be open in the evening and for someone to be here on their own.”
Following these concerns, consideration will be given to the town hall opening one evening a week, ensuring it is still accessible to the public.
For more information about the town council’s opening hours, contact 01225 704187.
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