Staying safe if you have to visit a council building

With coronavirus present in our community, Bedford Borough Council is reminding local residents to contact the Council remotely if they can.

The Council provides a number of services on its website, like booking a visit to the recycling centre, paying council tax, reporting a pothole or missed bin collection online at www.bedford.gov.uk and its Customer Services Team can be contacted by email (customerservices@bedford.gov.uk) or by phone (01234 267422).

If you have to go to a Council building you will be asked to wear a face covering, with these coverings now compulsory in shops and on public transport.

This is just one in a series of measures the Council is taking to protect visitors and staff from coronavirus.

Council buildings have been risk assessed to reduce the risk of the infection spreading with measures such as social distancing and one-way systems already in place. From Friday 24th July visitors are also being asked to wear a face covering where they can to help reduce the risk further.

A 'face covering' does not mean a medical grade mask, it is just something which safely covers the nose and mouth from a purpose-bought covering to a scarf.

We would always encourage you to contact the Council via the website, by email, or by phone in the first instance. For everyone's safety please only come into visit in person if you cannot contact us any other way. When visiting please take precautions; keep 2 metres apart where possible, use the hand sanitiser provided, wash your hands regularly, and wear a face covering if you can.

There are exemptions for people who don't need to wear a face covering. Advice on face coverings, exemptions, and how to make face coverings can be found on the Government website.