A NUMBER of council-run services have closed as part of the coronavirus lockdown.

South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) closed front counter services at South Lakeland House in Kendal and the town hall on Tuesday.

The council also announced the closure of the public jetty, public slipway and public toilets at Ferry Nab in Bowness.

All council-managed play areas have also closed although parks will remain open for fresh air and exercise in line with government advice.

The indoor market in Kendal will be closed although the outdoor market will continue for stalls selling food produce.

The council’s leisure provider, GLL, has confirmed that all its facilities, including the leisure centres in Kendal and Ulverston, have also closed.

SLDC is also suspending all bulky waste collection services.

Services will continue to be accessible to the homeless and anyone who requires urgent assistance can still call a member of the homelessness team on 01539 733333.

SLDC’s customer services team can be contacted by the same phone number or by emailing customer.services@southlakeland.gov.uk

Any documents that need to be handed in can be left in a sealed envelope in the post box at the council’s Kendal offices next to the main office entrance in Angel Yard.

SLDC chief executive Lawrence Conway said: “We are determined to maintain our essential services such as waste collections and benefits payments but in order to protect our residents and staff, and in line with the Prime Minister’s instructions, we are having to take these measures to temporarily close areas and facilities where the public may congregate.

“It is vitally important that everyone heeds the advice to stay at home but that doesn’t mean you can’t speak to us – our website, email and phone channels are still open and we have customer service staff available to deal with enquiries.’’

SLDC Leader Councillor Giles Archibald said: “As well as maintaining vital local services our staff are offering valuable help to support the community work which is assisting some of our most vulnerable residents and our teams are offering what support they can to local businesses, including the huge task of administrating the new grant funding.

“We are prioritising our work and resources to meet the demands of the coronavirus response which inevitably means some non-essential work and responses to non-essential enquiries may take longer than usual.

“These are unprecedented times and we are having to take unprecedented measures to meet the challenge.’’