Westmorland and Furness Council is planning to improve Kendal Town Hall.

The council wants to upgrade the reception and interview facilities to enhance the customer experience.

The town hall is a busy hub with enquiries about housing, registration of births, marriages and deaths, revenue and benefits, planning, building control, licensing, and general visitors to events.

The council's analysis of customer usage has led to several proposed updates.

These include increased accessibility for families with pushchairs and wheelchair users, improved acoustics in the reception area, a waiting space away from the main reception, greater privacy for interview rooms, and more desk workspace for customer-facing activities.

The council is now seeking permission to make these changes at the Grade II listed building in Highgate and has lodged a listed building application.

Councillor Peter Thornton, cabinet member for highways, assets and ICT, said: "The proposed alterations form part of the council’s wider strategy to improve access to public-facing services.

"These improvements, alongside the relocation of staff from County Hall, will allow us to focus our efforts on serving customers from modern, efficient facilities and will do much to ensure officers and our services are as widely accessible as possible.

"We will continue to offer spaces for local community use as well as operate and develop our face-to-face customer offer."

The council is in discussion with community groups that may be affected by the changes at Kendal Town Hall.

As part of its customer focus, the council is also seeking to improve facilities at Barrow Town Hall, with internal changes to the ground floor of the Grade II listed building to increase accessibility and make it a more welcoming space for visitors.

That work would restore the public entrance and create a second reception area for housing inquiries, new interview rooms, and toilet facilities.

In Penrith, services are now being delivered from Voreda House, which opened in the summer, and has replaced outdated offices and reception areas at the town hall and Mansion House.

Interested parties can view the application for Kendal Town Hall on the Westmorland and Furness Council website.

If permission is granted, further detailed design work would be carried out later in the year with physical work in 2025.

The council's initiative is part of a broader strategy to improve access to public-facing services and ensure that officers and services are as widely accessible as possible.

The council remains committed to providing spaces for local community use while developing its face-to-face customer offer.