First to benefit is the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) whose new offices on the ground floor of the centre were opened today (Thursday) by Councillor Terri Sargent, cabinet member for communities.
The refurbished public area of the Basildon Centre has been designed to give better and more efficient access to services to the many thousands of residents who visit every year. For the CAB this means new, larger offices, an improved layout, extra advising rooms and a staffed reception area. These will allow the bureau provide a more efficient service to its clients and to deliver high quality and highly valued advice to those who look to the CAB service to help with their problems.
Basildon Council is a major supporter of the CAB and provides them with an annual grant of nearly £129,000. The new offices will also benefit from a 90 per cent reduction in the council’s normal rent charges and council tax.
Other voluntary organisations are due to benefit from the changes as building works at the Basildon Centre are completed. Basildon CAB office offers clients scheduled appointments during the week and a drop in service on Saturday mornings.
They provide free, confidential and impartial advice and information on a wide range of issues including debt, benefits, housing, employment, health and immigration.
Councillor Terri Sargent said: “This has been an exciting project for all involved and we are proud to have played such a key part in providing a new home for a service which is so highly valued not only by the council but also by all our residents".
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