$500,000 revamp for Whanganui council's Guyton St building

Part of Whanganui District Council's Guyton St building is getting a revamp.

The public and reception area of Whanganui District Council's Guyton St building is getting a half a million dollar revamp and will be moved for three months while work is undertaken.

Council's front-counter services will temporarily shift to the council's infrastructure building at 179 St Hill St from December 3.

Chief executive Kym Fell said the work was about modernising the council's front-line customer service as part of what he says is a culture change at council.

"We are prioritising our community and our customers which in my view is absolutely essential," he said.

"We will be moving away from out-dated counters, caged cashier stations and long queues.

"Instead you will be warmly welcomed and personally assisted whether this means helping customers complete an online form at a digital kiosk or introducing them to a specialist such as a duty planner or building officer."

The Council building at 101 Guyton St was designed in 1965 and opened in 1968.

The mid-century modernist building has been largely unmodified and retains significant architectural features.

The design of the $500,000 refurbishment has been undertaken by Dalgleish Architects, re-organising the space to reflect modern business practice, while also recognising the original 1960's design.

"I think our customers will enjoy the new space very much and our staff will no longer be coming to work in an old-fashioned, dreary environment," Fell said.

"We'll also take this opportunity to address some deferred maintenance and ensure the building is compliant with current codes."

During the work the Mayor and Chief Executive and their staff will move to Heritage House where all council meetings will also take place there.

"Preparations for the move are already underway and we are all doing our best to make this as smooth a transition as possible," Fell said.

"I thank our customers in advance for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

Public access to 101 Guyton Street will be closed from 3 December 2018 and construction is estimated to take around three months to complete.