These days we are all used to communicating via email, Zoom and Teams and having files stored on computers.

But in March 1996 the high-tech revolution was still taking place.

The Mail reported how behind the impressive Victorian exterior of Barrow Town Hall, email was replacing faxes, computer scanners were making filing cabinets obsolete and the council had an experimental video-conferencing link with Cumbria County Council.

CALL: Barrow Borough Council’s new high technology information services in 1996 would allow officers and members ready access to information and colleagues across the county

CALL: Barrow Borough Council’s new high technology information services in 1996 would allow officers and members ready access to information and colleagues across the county

The Mail’s article said that sometime in the near future a Barrow resident would be in town querying his council tax bill. His files would be retrieved in seconds and he would be informed instantly whether or not he qualified for a rebate.

Elsewhere, a video conference about a town centre development involving an underground car park would be taking place with council officers from Carlisle and Barrow plus Transport Secretary Sir John Hutton all contributing to the discussion.

“It may sound like a scenario from 2006 but all of it could be happening in 1996 – the future has already arrived in Barrow,” stated The Mail in its news feature.

WORKING: Barrow Borough Council was undergoing a computer revolution in 1996

WORKING: Barrow Borough Council was undergoing a computer revolution in 1996

This was not bad progress for an authority which did not acquire its first fax machine until the second half of the 1980s, said the report.

Both the borough and the county councils had a video link on a free 12-month trail from computer giants ICL.

It had already been used to discuss one development and in the long-tern it was expected to help the authorities work more efficiently by reducing travel time and mileage costs.

MANAGING: Mick McKinnell, Barrow Council information technology manager in 1996

MANAGING: Mick McKinnell, Barrow Council information technology manager in 1996

“In the distant future, councillors may be able to attend meetings without leaving home,” stated The Mail’s report.

The county council was due to join BT’s Featurenet system, a modern switchboard service allowing for quick and free connections between council offices in different parts of the county. Barrow Council was expected to link up if it proved a success.

SEARCHING: In the future, said The Mail in 1996, files at Barrow Council would be stored on computer

SEARCHING: In the future, said The Mail in 1996, files at Barrow Council would be stored on computer

But despite the high-tech developments, Mick McKinnell, the borough council’s information technology manager, was quick to stress that the human touch would not be lost.

“We will still be here to answer phone calls and to answer letters, the old-fashioned way,” he said.