Customer First centre reopens on Horton Street in Halifax - Residents can assess face-to-face support

All under one roof, help and advice are available on services from housing, benefits and Blue Badge applications, to homelessness prevention, Homes for Ukraine and cost of living support.

The Council first opened the state-of-the-art Customer First centre in November 2013. The building closed in 2020 to protect people during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reopened its doors on Tuesday 3 January 2023 to bring more in-person services together.

Over 200 customers visited during the first week of January, seeking help from the dedicated customer service advisors or using one of the nine self-service computers to access digital services, with support where needed.

Coun Jenny Lynn, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said: “It’s important to us to make sure people can contact us for support in the way that’s best for them, so adding more face-to-face services to the mix will bring greater choice.

“Thank you to all the teams that have made it possible to reopen our Customer First centre in Halifax. We know this was a valued service before the pandemic, so we’re delighted to bring it back, with the addition of even more services under the same roof. We have priorities to reduce inequalities and build thriving towns, and reopening the building in the town centre helps towards both of these.

“Customers have told us how grateful they are to see staff face-to-face in ‘the old place’. The Customer First team, many of whom have only worked for the Council remotely since COVID, have settled in quickly and think it’s a great environment to work in.”

There are Council teams and other organisations based in the building, to increase efficiency and collaboration, save time for customers and give them easier access to services. These include the Customer First Team, the Homelessness Prevention Team, the Better Living Team, the Early Advice Support Team (which provides cost of living and other support), the Department for Work and Pensions, Together Housing, Victim Support, Homes for Ukraine and the Police on various days of the week.

The Customer First centre in Halifax is open to the public from Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm