The City of Edinburgh Council's Advice Shop will be moving to a new premises this summer. The council bought out of the lease to rent shop front premises on South Bridge in favour of a move to its own building at 329 High Street. The move was approved by councillors at yesterday's meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee.
The Advice teams provide Edinburgh residents with free advice on benefit entitlement, debt management, and housing rights. It is hoped that the new location will allow better access to IT support, better communication links and a more modern and customer-friendly environment.
Councillor Paul Edie, Convener of the Health, Social Care & Housing Committee, said: "Support for Edinburgh's citizens through the economic downturn will be an increasingly pressing issue through the coming months and all the advice services are looking at how they can best respond. We anticipate an increasing demand for debt and benefit advice in particular and are ensuring that we are in good shape to cope with the expected upsurge."
Edie said that the lower rental costs will save Council taxpayers money in the long term and provide a central alternative location that can expand to cope with the anticipated increase in demand.
The Advice Shop currently handles more than 33,000 enquiries a year, a figure that is expected to grow in the current economic climate.
Existing customers and agencies that refer customers will be notified of new contact details prior to the move.