Low-code that Pays Back: £100k+ Saved and 2,000+ Hours

The first services to be redesigned using Liberty Create were waste and recycling services – missed bins, assisted collections and an entirely new online bulky waste system – replacing paper processes with digital self-service and live operational data.

This service area has delivered one of the biggest digital impacts including:

1. 60% of bulky waste bookings now online
2. 79% improvement in collection rates
3. 70% recycled over landfill
4. £57,828 additional income in year one (261% increase)
5. 800+ admin hours removed
6. 46% reduction in missed bins reported.

Tewkesbury went a step above the normal online process for bins, introducing up-front information when customers go to report missed bins, so if a road is closed or the recycling bin was contaminated, the system will already have this information and will provide it to the customer. This creates more accurate data as well as offering a slick, useful service for residents.

Using live data also allowed the council to quickly identify bottlenecks and gave teams the flexibility to make changes. Tewkesbury’s online bulky waste service was previously paper-based, contributing to delays in customer updates, particularly if collections were missed. Using live data meant that the way that collections were mapped across the borough could be re-shaped to reflect the current demand.

The Bulky Waste Service crew use iPads with real-time dashboards to update collections as they go, freeing the team from paper and clipboards – and colleagues back at the base are freed from rekeying data to do more valuable work, all whilst reducing logged errors. A traditionally manual service became digital, self-funding and far more efficient.

Using Liberty Create, the council has launched an online portal for reporting issues, tracking cases and receiving updates. Customers can sign up to an account or use the services without one – and all reporting services (e.g. fly tipping and antisocial behaviour) and complaints are reported via the portal. Tewkesbury has seen:

1. 42% reduction in complaints
2. 39% decline in enquiries
3. 5 days average delivery time
4. 29% fewer follow-up calls within the first 3-months.

They attribute the improved metrics to the upfront information and automated updates. They also introduced a paperless billing service for council tax- reducing the use of paper and process and saving time and money.

70% of inbound planning team calls relate to status updates or information on the planning process. The planning support team is made up of seven officers, two of whom work on projects beyond their normal roles.

Using Liberty Create, the team built a real-time tracker connected directly to back-office systems, giving residents instant visibility of application progress. This delivered:

1. 75% faster local land charge searches
2. 2,000+ residents registered for self-service updates
3. Custom-branded automated emails and SMS notifications
4. Simple search using a unique reference number, parish or address
5. Greater visibility, results displayed as a list and on a map
6. Improved navigation to the Public Access site
7. Average of 116 page views per day
8. Over £99,000 cost savings since the system launched.

Answering calls and requesting updates took up a significant amount of officer time, resulting in delays in decision-making. Officers now spend less time answering routine queries – and more time progressing applications. This means officers can now focus on more complex enquiries.

Through Netcall Community, Tewkesbury Borough Council have shared the planning application tracker with other councils on AppShare to accelerate adoption elsewhere.

Although Tewkesbury focuses on its external customer-facing services, the team has made enhancements to its own digital services. The improved internal systems have delivered:

1. £18,000 cost savings by operating HR in-house
2. 816 hours saved through automated HR processes
3. 350+ hours saved on room bookings
4. £11,500 additional cashable savings.

My HR was created within 24-weeks, providing a centralised portal for team members across all departments, to log timesheets, sickness and annual leave.

My HR is simple to use and has enabled standardised processes across the entire council. HR data is centralised and consistent, improving record keeping and audit trails.

Another area where Liberty Create has enabled Tewkesbury to improve efficiencies and deliver great results is through room bookings. The new centralised system breaks down silos as bookings, refreshments and IT equipment required for a meeting are now efficiently and seamlessly booked via one platform. IT’s removed the reliance on a paper diary, plus there are no longer multiple emails back and forth to confirm each meeting.

Using Netcall’s Liberty Create and Citizen Hub, Tewkesbury delivers improvements in-house without external suppliers. Over five years, they’ve launched 20+ services in weeks, not months – ensuring they maintain full control as they continuously refining processes based on live data. Low-coderapid application development gives the council the agility to keep improving, year after year.