Irvine citizens advice team find a new home

Jul 3 2009 by Lorraine Howard, Irvine Herald

THEY feared it would never happen but this week, Irvine’s Citizens Advice Bureau found a new home in the town.

The charity helps people throughout North Ayrshire resolve their debt, benefits, housing, legal, discrimination, employment, immigration, consumer and other problems.

All the advice is free, independent and confidential and around 30 people a day drop into the Irvine office, a wooden hut next to the Townhouse. But the Irvine branch was in need of help itself as the shed they have been housed in for over 20 years was proving to be unsafe for the army of volunteers.

And last September they asked the Irvine Herald to help them bring their problems to the community’s mind and urged the council to move them.

Office manager Colin Wilson dreamed of a new town centre office for the service.

And now, it looks likely they are set to go into the former headquarters of the Irvine and Fullarton Co-op in Eglinton Street.

They will lease the building from next door’s Matthew Brown Solicitors.

On Tuesday, Colin said: “Nothing has been signed but hopefully, by the beginning of August, we will have a lease in place.

“We are working in poor conditions here and our interview rooms and offices could do with some major work so this is a dream come true.

“We were increasingly worried about the lack of disabled access for people who come to see us and are in wheelchairs, often, we have to interview them in the car park.

“So, really we were desperate for a move.”