New base in Lowestoft for East Suffolk's customer services?

East Suffolk Council leaders are set to discuss potentially spending £165,000 to move its customer services from the Marina Centre, in Lowestoft, less than half a mile away to the town's library.

The Marina Centre in Lowestoft. Picture: Mick Howes (Image: Mick Howes)

With the council's customer services team having operated out of the Marina Centre in Lowestoft town centre since 2009, the move could cost East Suffolk an extra £165,000 - which would be funded through reserves.

East Suffolk's cabinet is set to meet at Riverside, Lowestoft on Tuesday, May 7 to discuss the proposals.

The plans are part of the council's delivery of The Cultural Quarter project - a £24.3m vision for the "comprehensive redevelopment" of the town centre.

That scheme could see part of a car park demolished, with a new restaurant built along with a new community hub complete with café, civic square, pop up bars and competitive leisure uses - provided separate proposals get the go-ahead next month.

A report - entitled 'Relocating Customer Services to Lowestoft Library' - from the council's cabinet member with responsibility for Corporate Services, states: "To support and sustain a customer-facing presence inside Lowestoft, officers have identified a workable option to relocate East Suffolk’s customer reception and core contact centre to Lowestoft Library.

"This follows exploration of alternative locations in the town centre.

Lowestoft Library (Image: Mick Howes)

"By taking on the space identified at Lowestoft Library, East Suffolk Council can secure a convenient, stable location for local front-facing services through to 2030.

"Compared to other available and explored options, the library site presents a commercially sustainable case for the council with a healthy balance between need and resource."

The vacant former Tesco Metro store in Lowestoft last year. Picture: Mick Howes (Image: Mick Howes)

This newspaper understands that among the options considered was moving the service into the vacant former Tesco Metro store in London Road North - which closed in September 2019 after decades of serving the community.

With plans approved last year for 21 homes and a new retail unit at 119 -125 London Road North, work on the empty building is progressing.

Work has started on the ground floor of the former Tesco building in Lowestoft town centre. Picture: Mick Howes (Image: Mick Howes)

Other options assessed by the council included moving its customer services to "DWP’s Rishton House complex, the former magistrates’ court building, and the former Lowestoft hospital site, plus a series of high street retail options."

Relocating the services to the council's own Riverside office complex in Kirkley and thus "withdrawing from Lowestoft town centre" were considered, and dismissed.

East Suffolk Council headquarters in Lowestoft. Picture: Newsquest (Image: Newsquest)

With the service earmarked to move into Lowestoft Library it comes following a temporary move to the library in October 2022 to allow for refurbishments.

Moving is estimated to cost £165,000, funded through reserves raised from "a series of efficiencies" made by the service between 2019 and 2023, according to the report.

It adds: "This is in direct response to the need to vacate the existing facility to enable the Cultural Quarter development, part of the Lowestoft Towns Deal.

"This would secure the provision of a tangible front-facing service option in the town centre."

£24.3m Cultural Quarter project

Conceptual image of the proposed Cultural Quarter project in Lowestoft. Picture: Chaplin Farrant (Image: Picture: Chaplin Farrant)

With the proposals part of the Cultural Quarter project - which seeks to drive footfall in Lowestoft's town centre, where recent figures highlighted a quarter of shops are empty - it is one of five schemes being made possible by the Government’s £24.9 million Town’s Deal allocation.

Town Centre vacancy rates over the past five years (%) in East Suffolk. Picture: East Suffolk Council (Image: East Suffolk Council)

This includes the demolition of the Marina Centre building's north wing as part of a major redevelopment, that includes part demolition of the existing Battery Green car park, a new restaurant built along with a new community hub complete with café, civic square, pop up bars and competitive leisure uses.

A council spokesman said: "Lowestoft was awarded £24.9m from the government's £3.6bn Towns Fund in 2021 for five key projects in the heart of the town and one of the transformational regeneration schemes is a new Cultural Quarter at Battery Green.

"As part of this exciting programme, moving our Customer Service presence in the town will be necessary.

"This project will introduce fantastic new facilities into the town centre for the benefit of local residents.

"However we also know that local people still want to the opportunity to talk with us in person about the services we deliver and we are therefore keen to ensure a new home for our Customer Service function in the town which suits our residents."

The report adds: "Moving quickly enough to support the Cultural Quarter sets a challenging time window.

Conceptual image of the proposed public realm at night for the Cultural Quarter project in Lowestoft. Picture: Chaplin Farrant (Image: Chaplin Farrant)

"Funding for that project is time-bound, such that late commencement of enabling works could jeopardise its financial basis."

The proposals are recommended for approval "because they secure a sustainable, medium-term future for face-to-face services in the district's largest town."

With the recommendations that Cabinet approves four options, if given the go-ahead next week, the customer services team would vacate the Marina Centre by September "to allow for demolition works to begin."