Members of the congregation of Buckingham Parish Church have signed a petition against the proposed closure of the town’s Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) area office .
Rector Will Pearson-Gee and parishioner Sarah-Louise Johnston handed the petition to customer service advisor Monica Coates and district councillor Robin Stuchbury at the office in the Buckingham Centre yesterday, Thursday.
Rev Pearson-Gee said: “We’re very involved with the community. The more cuts there are out there, the more the voluntary sector has to pick up. We think it is unfair for people to have to go all the way to Aylesbury.”
The decision to close the Buckingham and Winslow area offices is to be reconsidered by AVDC’s cabinet on February 11. AVDC’ s customer service centre on Aylesbury’s High Street is closing today, Friday.
On Tuesday, representatives of Buckingham Town Council, AVDC and Bucks County Council met to discuss the proposed closure of the Buckingham office .
AVDC service manager Jeff Membery said closing the office would save £56,000 in staff wages and costs.
He said: “This isn’t unique in Buckingham. It’s something that’s been happening across AVDC for many years. What we’ve found very useful is to have a period of educating customers over alternative ways to access services.”
Mr Membury said home visits are available for vulnerable residents and people will also be able to pre-book appointments with specialist officers at ‘surgeries’ in Buckingham.