Council service updates - Coronavirus (COVID-19)

There may be a slight delay in responding to enquiries and in issuing permissions for TPO trees or trees in a conservation area. Please be assured applications are being dealt with as quickly as possible.

Please note that Community Safety officers may be supporting other critical services provided by the borough council at present.

Response times may be significantly delayed and urgent or serious cases will be prioritised. All other complaints will be logged and will be investigated in due course.

Home visits remain suspended unless deemed essential and we will continue to review the service over the coming weeks.

Antisocial behaviour and other types of nuisance will still be considered unacceptable and action will be taken where necessary.

The Money Advice Service offers money and debt advice if you've been affected by Coronavirus. They've grouped all the coronavirus information and guides around other issues you might be having in one place. So you can find out what you can do and where you can go for help. Find out more on the Money Advice Service website.

While council staff are dealing with the impact of the Coronavirus situation, there will be a triage system in place for Freedom of Information requests. A delayed response is likely for most enquiries, where information is not readily available. We appreciate your patience at this time.

Careline have continued to operate throughout the pandemic. We are taking every step to ensure our customers are kept safe with our installers wearing full PPE and keeping two metres distance at all times whilst inside your property.

The Housing team are operating a rota system to maintain social distancing. This is so that they can continue to provide the service for as long as possible. This may cause a slight delay in responding to enquiries.

Anyone homeless needing assistance should contact the council on 01553 616200 during office hours or 01553 616601 outside office hours and listen to the available options.

Under no circumstances should anyone needing accommodation be presenting directly to emergency accommodation without being instructed to by the council.

If you are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, please let us know as soon as possible.

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

If you live in an HMO, you and all the other residents should:

• follow the current guidance.
• behave in the same way as a single household if one of you has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19), and
• make sure all shared areas are cleaned regularly and kept well ventilated.

Tenants - Housing standards are still being enforced (including HMOs). We continue to investigate complaints on the basis of risk, but please be aware that we will endeavour to resolve minor concerns remotely.

Landlords - There are currently no office appointments. Please submit all HMO licensing applications through our online services – otherwise, post any new, transfer, variation or renewal applications (and/or any paperwork) in the letterbox at the King’s Court Council offices.

Due to exceptional demand there may be a delay in being assigned to a Lily Advisor. The majority of support will be provided over the telephone, text, email or video calls.

There is a lot of information and advice available on the Lily website.

Please call Millennium Pest Control on 01553 344002 to discuss your requirements. 

In order to comply with social distancing advice, they can supply DIY rat and mouse kits to provide a solution for pest issues that are not deemed as an emergency.

Customers are encouraged to use the Planning Portal or speak to independent planning agents. This enables the planning team to focus on processing planning applications.

Planning officers are continuing to determine applications, although there may well be delays in processing applications. Neighbours, parish councils and other consultees will continue to be notified of new planning applications, and we will publish the weekly list in the usual way. All new planning applications can be inspected and comments made on Public Access. You can also see if there are any new planning applications near you by going to MyNotifications in the menu bar of our homepage.

Planning Committee are now meeting monthly. For further information, visit our meetings page. These meetings can be watched live on the borough council YouTube channel.

Businesses have a legal responsibility to keep employers and visitors safe. They must follow the Government advice when operating.

If you've seen a business who isn't adhering to the COVID-secure guidelines, find out how to report this on our Report a breach of COVID-19 safety rules page.