Kettering Registration Office is set to move to its new premises next month (3rd June).
From this date, the registration office will be based within Kettering Borough Council’s offices at Bowling Green Road and will become part of their Customer Service Centre, therefore adding to the range of services already available for residents, all in one place and regardless of which organisation is actually supplying the service.
The new registration office will be more accessible, with everything taking place on the ground floor, with public parking and public transport links close by.
In a joint venture between Northamptonshire County Council and Kettering Borough Council registrars will be conducting wedding ceremonies and dealing with all life events from the Customer Service Centre. This move will help make savings and deliver an improved service to customers. Registration customers will also be able to benefit from longer opening hours, with appointments available from 9am to 5pm instead of the current opening hours of 9.30am to 4.30pm.
This is an exciting new development and is consistent with the continuous roll out of more partner services from the extended town centre Customer Service Centre.
Kettering Borough Council are already actively delivering an innovative range of services including HMRC Tax Office, Police, and Kettering General Hospital blood testing service, Fire Service and many voluntary sector organisations. Delivering a registrars service from the centre will enhance the integrated public sector hub.
The proximity of Manor House Gardens to the Municipal Offices makes it an ideal location for photographs before, or after, the ceremony.
Councillor Heather Smith, County Council cabinet member for customer services said ` We are pleased to be able to work in partnership with Kettering Borough Council and join the wide range of services already available under one roof in their Customer Service Centre.
“The building at Bowling Green Rd has more gravitas and presence than the current registration office making it especially suitable for ceremonies and the all-important photographs afterwards. By making this move, we can both save money and deliver an excellent service for our customers.”
Councillor Alison Wiley, Kettering Borough Council’s Portfolio Holder for Finance said:
‘Kettering Borough Council is delighted that the Old Grammar School building is to be used for weddings; it is a wonderful example of the architecture for which J A Gotch was renowned and will be a lovely backdrop for a special day in the lives of those who marry there . We hope that this latest innovation in our continuing drive to increase the range of services we provide will prove popular with the community. The central location of the building, together with the provision of transport services and car parking make this an exciting project. We look forward to working in partnership with the Northamptonshire County Council Registrar Services’
Customers can register their life events at any registration office across the county and should telephone Northamptonshire County Council’s customer service centre on 0300 126 1010 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m as usual for an appointment at an office of their choice.