A new help point service at Adur Civic Centre is open for business.

Refurbishment work at the Shoreham centre has been completed and a special opening ceremony was held on Monday.

Improvements were made to the the reception area, with the provision of additional waiting areas, upgraded information points and lighting.

It is the first step in Adur District Councils plans to improve its customer services.

Customers visiting the centre can now go to one service point for all their enquiries.

The council is phasing in its plans during the next year.

Initially, the changes will only affect walk-in customers but, by the end of next year, Adur intends to have a dedicated call centre in place.

This will mean most customer enquiries, whether by phone, internet or face-to-face, will be dealt with by one dedicated team.

Council leader Neil Parkin said: "The one-stop approach is a much more effective way of dealing with customers and putting them at the heart of the business.

"An important part of our plans to improve customer services is to harness the power of new technology.

"To help us achieve this, the Government has granted many councils substantial funds.

"Together with the significant resources the council has committed, this money will go towards making our services more accessible."

"We are also working with other West Sussex councils to develop joint systems that will allow us to manage customer inquiries more effectively between different organisations.

"This joint effort will save money and resources and allow us to provide a seamless service for county and district council services."