County Council services: What's open, what's not in Northamptonshire during the lockdown

Public libraries and Childrens' Centres are closed but Northamptonshire's rubbish tips, register offices and country parks will stay open during the lockdown.

The County Council issued an update on changes to its core services following the move into a second coronavirus lockdown from Thursday.

A full list of service information can be found on the county council website but the most significant changes are as follows:

Northamptonshire Libraries

Under national restrictions, library services across the county must close buildings to the general public for four weeks up to Wednesday 2 December.

The reopening of libraries will be reviewed at the end of the period.

Under the restrictions, libraries will continue to offer the following services:

Home Library Service — a no-contact service with doorstep delivery

Order & Collect services

Digital and remote services including e-lending, e-books and e-audio, online events and activities via library Facebook pages and You Tube channel

These services will be managed in Covid-secure ways, in line with government guidance. Services offered by the Community Managed Libraries may vary so residents are advised to check the web pages and social media channels for the latest information.

Registration Service

Public library buildings are closed but appointments are still being offered to customers via the Registration Service:

Birth registrations are still permitted

Weddings and Civil partnership ceremonies are not permitted to take place

Notice of marriage or Civil Partnership appointments will continue

All face-to-face death registrations have been suspended with immediate effect

People are advised to email: [email protected] to make contact in the first instance.

Northamptonshire Archives and Heritage Service

This service is now temporarily closed until further notice. As a result, the service is currently unable to offer its Research and Digitisation Services.

Bus services

The local authority is in regular contact with bus companies and will endeavour to provide summary details of what is changing on bus services if operators begin to alter their service levels. The bus timetables page of the NCC website provides the latest updates.

Country Parks

Northamptonshire country park car parks, toilets, play areas and cafes (take away service) will remain open and normal parking charges will be in operation.

Visitors are expected to manage their own social distancing when at the parks and show respect for other park users.

Children’s Centres

All Children’s Centres have now closed until further notice.

Families that usually receive support from a Social Worker are advised to contact their Social Worker direct, or the duty team.

Household Waste Recycling Centres

The county council’s intention is for the Household Waste Recycling Centres to remain open throughout the period of additional Covid-19 restrictions.

Social distancing will continue to be enforced at all HWRCs and as a result there may be queues to access the sites.

People are being asked to consider if their visit is absolutely necessary.

County Council leader, Matt Golby, said: “These are unfortunate but very necessary steps we must take to help safeguard the health of the people of Northamptonshire.

“We take this responsibility very seriously and while we understand that many people use these services regularly, wherever possible we have to put measures in place to support the government’s efforts and help tackle the spread of Covid-19.

“We are continuing to look at everything we do to find ways that we can continue to support our residents during the ongoing challenges presented by the virus.”