Rural services hubs for Somerset

There has been a lot of confusion about the provision of 'hubs' following the relocation of the District Council's HQ:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: the promise of 'hubs' and putting the cart before the horse

The County Council in Somerset seems to have come up with some novel ideas:

Rural services ‘hub’ opens in Somerset

Tuesday, 26 July 2016 Ruralcity Media 1 comment 

A market town 'hub' bringing together a number of important public services has opened in Somerset.

The new hub in Glastonbury brings together the library, registration services, children's centre and nursery, health visitors and midwives. It also includes an access point for Mendip District Council, Citizen's Advice, and Health Connections Mendip.

As well as saving money, the hub means residents can access all the help they might need in one place – and library is able to extend its opening hours too.

David Hall, cabinet member for business, investment and policy at Somerset County Council, said sharing space for services brought a number of benefits for all involved – including local residents.

"The opening of Glastonbury Library hub is the start of a very exciting new venture for Somerset County Council and our partners who work in other public sector services. We believe that by combining these services it will make it easier for people living in our rural communities and encourage them to use the services on offer when they become readily available."

More hubs are planned for other areas in Somerset and proposals are being considered for similar schemes across the County. Somerset County Council can also announce that by moving services into one place this means it will be selling off some of its redundant buildings. The revenue generated will be reinvested back into protecting frontline services.

Rural services ‘hub’ opens in Somerset


Orchard Court, the new public services hub in Glastonbury, opens this week

By Central Somerset Gazette | Posted: July 25, 2016 By Bodhi Maia

The new public services hub in Glastonbury will open on Thursday.

The hub, at Orchard Court, brings together the library, registration services, Getset Children's Centre, health visitors and midwives, Mendip District Council's Access Point, citizen's advice, Health Connections Mendip and a children's nursery.

Sharing space for services with partners like the district councils, NHS and Citizen's Advice means residents can access all the help they might need in one place, and it means the library will be able to extend its opening hours too.

David Hall, Cabinet Member for Business, Investment and Policy, said; "The opening of Glastonbury Library hub is the start of a very exciting new venture for Somerset County Council and our partners who work in other public sector services. We believe that by combining these services it will make it easier for people living in our rural communities and encourage them to use the services on offer when they become readily available."

Short tours of the new hub will be available to the public on Thursday and Friday. Anyone is welcome to pop in and report to the welcome desk.

More hubs are planned for other areas in Somerset and proposals are being considered for similar schemes across the county. The county council also announced that by moving services into one place it will be selling off some of its redundant buildings to reinvest the money back into protecting frontline services.

Orchard Court, the new public services hub in Glastonbury, opens this week | Somerset Live
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