TAUNTON Deane Borough Council's HQ in Taunton will be closed to the public from midday tomorrow (Friday, December 1) until the following Tuesday.

It will allow technician to move the main computer servers at the Deane House ahead of major refurbishment work on the building.

Council staff will still be working, although the authority's office in Wellington and its depot will also be shut.

The closure means:

  • Deane House will open to the public an hour early on Friday, December 1;
  • the council website will be down from noon that day until lunchtime on Monday, December 4, although a page will be live during the outage to provide emergency information;
  • staff will be working throughout, but will be unable to receive phone calls or access e-mails;
  • the automated phone payment system will be unavailable during the closure; urgent calls should be made to 01823-351411;
  • the Deane's Twitter and Facebook accounts will be live.

A council spokeswoman said: "The server move coincides with the start of work to modernise the Deane House.

"The project will provide accommodation for the council and for Avon and Somerset Police following their move from the existing police station in Shuttern, Taunton.

"The upgraded building will also have the potential to accommodate other partners in the public or private sector in future."

Neighbours with permits allowing them to park in the circle and adjoining car parks after 6pm on weekdays and at weekends will be able to park free of charge in the public car park behind The Deane House and in bays marked with their permit codes.

The start of work entails:

  • external work replacing windows and putting up scaffolding;
  • contractor Midas Construction setting up a compound for essential equipment;
  • parking in the circle area at the front of the building unavailable;
  • reduced customer parking during the works; main reception will stay where it is, with a different entrance door until summer 2018, when the new refurbished reception will open for business;
  • work will be phased with the police moving in during autumn 2018;
  • no trees will be cut down during the work, lighting will be improved and CCTV will be in operation.

In the spring, the council will also be decommissioning out-of-date cash machines in both the Deane House and the Wellington Community Office.

Customers will then be able to pay rent, council tax and other bills at a variety of locations, including post offices.

Committee and full council meetings are being held in alternative premises during the construction work.