North Herts District Council’s staff have moved back to their offices in Letchworth’s Gernon Road today, after the completion of a £6 million revamp.

NHDC’s customer service centre temporarily moved to Town Lodge in November 2016 when the headquarters were closed for essential renovation work.

The budget for the work was £6.079m, which was exceeded by 0.56 per cent. The additional expenditure included £271,000 for the removal of asbestos, an unexpected cost of the project.

Now building work is complete, all NHDC staff are moving back in.

The district council plans to rent out the second floor – about 3,000 sq ft – to generate additional income, which will be used to support the provision of council services generally.

Councillor Julian Cunningham said: “We are pleased to be able to move our excellent customer service centre back into our refurbished offices.

“The new service centre will be open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Residents are welcome to visit to speak to our helpful and knowledgeable customer service assistants, who will be happy to help them with their enquiries.

“However, before visiting do check our website to see if you can save yourself time by carrying out your transaction online.”

Building work at NHDC’s headquarters was carried out by Letchworth-based building contractor Willmott Dixon, and included extensive refurbishment both inside and outside the building.

The work included replacing the old heating system with an energy efficient heating/cooling system, installation of energy efficient double-glazed windows, installing new fire-retardant external panels, replacing failing roof insulation, and demolishing internal offices to create an open-plan environment.

The revamp aims to make the building more energy-efficient and fit for use by district council staff for many years.

NHDC’s Herts Careline team will soon be housed at the headquarters, moving from their current base in Hitchin.

You can contact the district council’s customer service centre in person via the main NHDC entrance on Rowland Way. You can also visit north-herts.gov.uk, or call 01462 474000.