New First Point opens at Hillsborough

First Point, the Council’s hugely successful one-stop-shop is expanding again, with new premises opening at Hillsborough Barracks on Monday 17 January.  Only a few months after opening offices in Chapeltown, the flagship service will provide a single point of contact for a wide range of council services, delivered from top quality premises in Hillsborough. 

The new First Point office will replace existing Sheffield Homes housing services at Bradfield Road and Shipton Street.  Sheffield Homes will run this new service on behalf of the Council and a dedicated team of Customer Service Assistants, drawn from existing Sheffield Homes staff, have been trained to deal with a wide range of enquiries.

Residents in the North West area of the city will be able to access:

• All Sheffield Homes services, including repairs, maintenance and investment, estate and tenancy management, rehousing advice, tenancy enforcement and rent advice
• Council tax and housing benefits
• Discount leisure cards (Slice Cards)
• Information on schools and free school meals
• Parking badges for disabled people
• Sales of refuse sacks
• Council job vacancies
• Social Services equipment and adaptations

In addition, customers can use freephones to directly access other council services.  All this in a fully accessible building with baby changing facilities, a loop system for those with hearing impairments and free Internet access too.  The opening hours of the new First Point @ Hillsborough will be 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday.

Commenting on the latest expansion to First Point services, Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance, Councillor Steve Jones, said: “The success of our First Point services can be measured by the consistently high customer satisfaction rates.  I’m delighted that the residents of Hillsborough and its surrounding areas are the latest who will be able to take advantage of the expansion of First Point into the neighbourhoods and I’m sure they too will be delighted with the services on offer.”

Peter Morton, Chief Executive of Sheffield Homes, said: “The Hillsborough First Point is a huge improvement for serving customers in one of the city’s busiest district shopping centres.  Customers can access council services locally for the first time.  Tenants will find that First Point is much more convenient and open longer than the previous offices.  This is a really exciting development which we are proud to manage for the city.”

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Contact: Jacqui Bolsover, Corporate Media Team, on 0114 203 9081