Council customer services area to get safety upgrade
Published on 27 November 2025
Whanganui District Council’s customer services area will undergo a three-week upgrade from Monday, 1 December to improve access and safety for council staff and the community.
The customer services area at 101 Guyton Street will be open for business as usual during the upgrade with the customer services team on hand to guide visitors to the temporary service desk.
Council chief experience officer, Catherine Dutton, says this is budgeted work that has been planned for some time.
“Our former chief executive, David Langford, investigated safety concerns experienced by staff and, at times, customers, and funding was allocated to the upgrade in the last annual plan as a necessary safety-related investment.
“Councils around the country have experienced rising safety concerns for their staff and Whanganui is unfortunately no different.
“We want people to feel safe in this area which is the hub of community interactions with the council so over the last eight months we have been working towards a new layout which will improve the service delivery experience for our community.”
The council is working to minimise disruption during this time, with noisy construction work scheduled for after hours.
“The customer services team enjoys and appreciates their interaction with the community – so while the layout of the area will be a little different, the service from the team won't change,” Dutton says.
Where possible, the council is reusing resources such as counters, desks, cash machines and Eftpos facilities to keep costs down for the $100,000 upgrade.
Dutton says she thinks people will be pleased with the new look and layout, which will include new signage to help guide visitors to different areas.
The customer services team will continue to be available via the usual channels – report an issue via the Antenno app, call us on 06 349 0001 or email us at yourcouncil@whanganui.govt.nz.
“We’re confident the refreshed customer services area will be safer and more welcoming for everyone,” Dutton says.