A parish council is moving offices to ensure staff can work safely and adhere to social distancing.

North Weald Bassett Parish Council is to make arrangements to provide a face-to-face public service out of the parish council-owned Parish Hall at Thornwood instead of from its current office at North Weald Library.

The parish council has highlighted concerns about the ability to socially distance in its small office space at the High Road library and to adhere to the relevant government guideline relating to the new cleaning regimes.

A report to parish councillors at Monday's meeting stated: "Neither the clerk nor the staff have confidence that social distancing or adequate cleaning could be carried out within the setting of the Essex County Council library premises at the current time.

"Therefore there is a real concern that this building would not be an appropriate building to return to for any work at the current time.

"The current government guidelines are that employees should work from home if it is possible. Whilst the staff can fulfill the job working from home, there does need to be some sort of front-line service for the public going forward and once the Government says it is safe to do so, with the appropriate measures in place."

The report added that the "safest and most appropriate option" is to offer a temporary service from the Parish Hall.

This could be achieved at a minimal cost to the council and easily offered with social distancing and with the appropriate cleaning in place, ensuring the hall is used and the caretaker employed, the council said.

Parish clerk Sue De Luca told the meeting: "We believe the only way forward, adhering to government guidelines, is for the parish council to offer a face-to-face service out of the Parish Hall at Thornwood.

"It may only be for three months, it may be a month. It may be six months, but we would know that we were adhering to what was expected of us."

Councillor Andy Tyler said: "We have a duty and a legal obligation that our staff work in a clean and safe environment and we can't guarantee that with the library."

The parish council said a service for the Parish would be all the more important given that Epping Forest District Council will be vacating the Condor Building with more than 400 staff working from home due to the imminent Civic Offices refurbishment work.