FACE to face advice on issues such as benefits and housing will once again be on offer to Leominster residents thanks to the launch of a new outreach CAB service in the town.

Leominster Town Council has put forward £5,000 to enable Herefordshire CAB to offer a bi-weekly face-to-face service in the North Herefordshire town for six months, starting from mid-October.

Currently, advice is only available over the phone or via e-mail – although there is also face-to-face assistance by appointment in Hereford – after the ‘open-door’ facility came to an end on June 24.

The former Leominster branch of the CAB closed its doors for good in May 2015, following the withdrawal of services in Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury and Bromyard due to funding cuts.

Those who need advice will still be initially assessed via email or over the phone but will then be offered face to face advice if needed.

Dawne Shepherd, advice services manager and interim chief officer with Herefordshire CAB, thanked the town council for its support and said the service will allow Leominster residents to access support in their own community.

Paul Russell, Leominster Town Council clerk, said: "The council has really tried, in partnership with the Market Towns Forum and CAB, to assess what enhanced service we could offer in our towns bearing in mind that the funding dried up from other sources and the only CAB service available now is through the telephone.

"Despite the loss of services which seem to be occurring on a regular basis, there's sometimes a point where the very local authority in the form of the town and parish council needs to step up and try and reintroduce that service.

"It's much easier to support a smaller service than to lose it completely and then try to re-create it in three or four years' time.

"Essentially we are creating a little bit of a safety net and trying to secure a reduced service whilst trying to meet the needs of local people."

The face to face advice will be on offer on a fortnightly basis at the new town council offices in Corn Square – where the CAB was formerly based.

A similar outreach project is being launched at the same time in Ross-on-Wye, also thanks to support from the town council. It will be held at Ross Library on a fortnightly basis.