The Citizens Advice Bureau is planning to return to Wilmslow after the Town Council agreed to provide funding for them to set up a new operation in the town.
Up until 12 years ago the Citizens Advice Bureau had an office in Wilmslow but it was forced to close when the building fell into disrepair and they had insufficient funds to rectify the problems.
Since then the service, which offers free, confidential, impartial, independent advice and information on a wide range of subjects, has been located in Macclesfield.
The service has also been available via the phone or online but this has proved far from ideal as customers generally prefer to have a face to face service.
The United Reformed Church has offered the use of their facilities for free to the Citizens Advice Bureau who plan to offer an initial three hour face to face session on a Monday morning.
Wilmslow Town Council voted unanimously to provide funding of £15,000 which will cover the set up costs and equipment as well as the operating costs for the year.
The Citizens Advice Bureau requested a grant of just over £10,000 but Wilmslow Town Council agreed to allocate £15,000 as that they expect demand for the service to result in an expansion and the additional funding will enable them to also offer an evening and weekend session.
Jacquie Grinham, of the Citizens Advice Bureau, explained "At the moment we are looking at a Monday morning but we wouldn't necessarily have to stay at the United Reformed Church. We have also had discussions about having a session at the British Legion, plus maybe a couple of hours at the library during one of their late opening days. For an evening session somewhere like the library where there are other people around would be a good idea."
Cllr Martin Watkins, Chairman of the Finance Committee, fully supported the proposal but stressed the need for quarterly reports so the Council could see how the service is being operated, the type of assistance being provided as well as the location and age of the people seeking advice.
Jacquie Grinham confirmed that they will be able to deliver the service from mid-September as they already have someone lined up to run it.
