POOLE council plans to spend up to £153,000 to improve facilities at the Civic Centre as they have been found to be posing “significant risks” to employees and members of the public.

Chief executive Andrew Flockhart said “serious concerns” had been raised with him about the adequacy of facilities in the reception and customer services centre, which are failing to meet Disability Discrimination (DDA) Act and Equalities Act requirements.

The Civic Centre receives around 5,000 visits a month from members of the public, and frontline council employees have reported that the current customer waiting area is causing a “tense” and “uncomfortable” atmosphere. The majority of staff are experiencing verbal abuse and aggression from the public on a daily basis.

A risk assessment report carried out last year found customers are frustrated with “long waiting times, uncomfortable surroundings, poor facilities and the inability to have a confidential conversation”.

Mr Flockhart is asking cabinet members to approve an investment of up to £153,000 in a new disabled toilet, a baby changing and feeding facility, interview rooms and booths, a queue management system, and better signage.

He says the council is currently at high risk of a legal claim of compensation because disabled people cannot access toilet facilities when waiting for services. People are also injuring themselves on stairs and bannisters when accessing the planning service.

And both employees and members of the public are being seriously injured or suffering harassment from other members of the public behaving violently.

“It is clear to me that the standard of facilities for customer access in the civic centre does not meet the DDA or Equalities Act requirements. Equally, it is clear that the council is not fulfilling its obligations to its employees as required by the Health and Safety at Work Act,” Mr Flockhart said.

“Mitigating the risks identified requires investment in the facilities that council provides for the public and for its staff who provide services to the public by face to face contact. Doing so would be good for staff wellbeing and for public access to services in the Civic Centre.”

A spokesperson for Dorset charity Diverse Abilities said: “For local people with disabilities, facilities that are hard to access can cause a barrier, potentially meaning they don’t feel able to get face to face help as easily.

"If the facilities at the Civic Centre were adjusted by making key alterations, it would greatly help those that are disabled in the area and increase the level of accessibility of required services and information provided by the council.”

Cllr Vikki Slade, who works for the charity, said the council "should be leading the way in accessibility" and not be "dragged into the 21st century".

"We must invest in our stock to make them accessible to all, or look seriously at moving to facilities that do offer appropriate access," she said.

To avoid closing the Civic Centre, the work will be carried out through a series of smaller, individual projects.

Mr Flockhart acknowledged that the investment “may conflict with the council’s future ambitions to relocate from the Civic Centre site, either as part of the Town Centre North or the Future Dorset proposals”, but he said “any such move is unlikely much before April 2020 at the earliest”.

He added: “I have looked into these issues personally and am convinced that the risks highlighted in this report are significant and require mitigation. A decision to invest in facilities will enable the council to fulfil its obligations to employees and the public to a minimum standard.”