Mansfield District Council said it was temporarily changing the way it delivers services from Tuesday, 17th March, in line with current advice from the Government.

A statement said: “The council remains open and is focused on continuing to provide priority services for our residents and businesses, particularly the most vulnerable members of our community.

“We have, however, decided that the time has now come to limit face-to-face contact to reduce the risk of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) among the local community and our employees.

“Customers can continue to:
•Visit our website www.mansfield.gov.uk
•Email us at [email protected]
•Send us a private message on Facebook @mymansfielduk
•Send a direct message on Twitter @MDC_News
•Call us on 01623 463463 (or 01623 463050 for emergencies outside of office hours)

“We will only deal with urgent customer enquiries in person and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

W”e have been working hard for some time to put measures in place to enable our office-based employees to work from home, where possible and where it does not disrupt service delivery, and this will be the case from Tuesday, 17th March.

“Council employees have been advised to cancel all non-essential travel, meetings and training or make alternative arrangements such as tele-conferencing where possible.

“Employees delivering public facing services such as housing repairs, street cleansing and waste and recycling will continue as normal for now, but this is being reviewed regularly and may change in line with the latest Government advice.

“We plan to postpone delegated decisions and council meetings and are asking councillors to support members of their ward from home.”

Hayley Barsby, chief executive, said: “We feel that this is the right thing to do at this time. It gives us a better chance of reducing the risk of the spread of coronavirus among both our local community and our employees.

“We are proactively screening our face-to-face calls by asking customers if they are currently self-isolating and taking action accordingly.

“We know these are worrying and unsettling times for everyone. I want to reassure the public and our employees that while safety is our top priority, we are doing all we can to find ways to continue providing vital services, particularly for our vulnerable service users.”

For the latest information about council services follow it on Facebook @mymansfielduk and on Twitter @MDC_News and check our website.

For the latest information about coronavirus, visit www.nhs.uk/coronavirus