The "One-Stop-Shop"
A Personal View by D.Mather I like many residents have read or
heard something about the One-Stop-Shop. I am not in any privileged position to
judge whether it'll be a good thing
or a bad thing, nor whether its arrival has been properly communicated to
the wider public or not. What I am hoping to find is an answer to simple questions
such as "what
is it ?" and "will it help people or just relocate the
confusion ?". And I certainly don't wish to become embroiled in
the question of "who's paying for what ?" despite the fact
that it is does concern me as a local ratepayer ! The recently issued (May2000) questionnaire from the District council suggested some of its
content, but appeared to stop well short of making any measurable commitments. What was suggested there was the following;
§
"Access
to Government Services" : No mention is made as to whether
this means informed, authorised and accountable people from the
relevant departments are actually on-hand and can or will
actually make decisions there, or whether "access
to..." could be equally described as "postbox
to...".
Applying for
Council Tax Benefit
Applying for
Housing Benefit
Paying Council Tax
or National Non-Domestic Rates
Paying Council
Rents
Applying for
Planning Permission
Applying for
Building Regulation Approval
Applying for Grant
Aid (sports, arts, business development, village halls,
enhancement of the built and natural environment)
Collecting sacks
for business, domestic rubbish & garden waste
Applying for a Land
Search
Applying for
licences (entertainment, street collection, taxis)
Information on
councillors (!!?)
Information on
roads & footpaths
Applications for
concessionary travel
§
Housing
information`
§
Tourist
"point"
§
Access
to careers advisors, two days of the week (presumably all office
hours)
§
Library service
Placing so much utility access in a single location would appear to be a sound idea, creating a genuinely useful resource. To be truly useful, and not a merely an extra layer of bureaucracy, the facility has to offer authoritative answers, and does not merely refer questions elsewhere.
A library is somewhat different. It is a place of learning, whether for ad-hoc information or applied study, and there are too few opportunities for getting either in the town. I hope that the opportunity is taken to provide the space and the kind of calm, quiet, atmosphere conducive to learning. This must not be just for a token handful of people, but of sufficient capacity to enable a good number of students of all ages, to make effective use of the place, perhaps even treating it as a satellite from the colleges or nearby universities.
Creating a student populace to the Further and Higher Education colleges, and the Universities of Staffordshire and Keele, would enliven the town. Providing a reference resource suitable to enable trade and industry to undertake useful research into marketing or technical issues would surely attract attention to help grow the town. Though I am sure that the likes of JCB have their own such facility in-house to help them, no other local company has their kind of financial muscle to make one practical.
No information has appeared about what will happen to the site of the existing County Council provided Library, together with Careers Office behind, on Leek Road. Who knows to what use those buildings will be put in the future, or whether the site would be redeveloped for some other public purpose ? Perhaps the site will be sold-off to property developers - money to the County Council ? - who would then surely devise some scheme to further vex the District and County Planning departments. It is very sad that many of the property plans in and around the town reduce to someone's personal or collective profit, and end up further disenchanting the towns' people - but that's a different issue.