THE Coleford Jobcentre Plus is to move to the nearby Forest of Dean District Council offices.

The relocation is part of a national project by the government to reduce the amount of unused office space.

All staff who currently work at the Jobcentre in Mushet Walk are expected to move to the new offices and deliver the same range of services.

Cinderford and other local Jobcentres are not affected by the plan being introduced by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

The ‘co-location’ will see the Jobcentre move from it current offices to the nearby council offices where it will occupy space on the ground floor.

The council’s Cabinet member for finance, Cllr Richard Boyles (Con, Westbury and Newnham) said: “As well as enabling co-located service delivery in Coleford for the first time, all taxpayers should be pleased to hear that we will be making best use of excess office accommodation at our Coleford offices and reducing both our running costs.”

The move is also expected to assist with the delivery of the government’s Universal Credit reforms which were introduced in the Forest in 2015.

Nick Browning, the Jobcentre Plus district manager said: “The relocation of our Jobcentre to the district council offices in High Street presents us with an exciting opportunity to work alongside a key local partner in delivering improved services to people in the area.”

Cllr Carole Allaway-Martin (Con, Coleford Central), Cabinet member for housing and wellbeing added: “We have been in discussions with the DWP about this co-location for some time and I am grateful to everyone who has been involved in making this possible. This initiative will help local people gain access to all services in one place.”

The council is currently in discussions with other public sector bodies such as the police and health service about the best use of their assets as part of the One Public Estate initiative.

The council’s head of paid service, Sue Pangbourne, told councillors recently: “Discussions have reinvigorated talks with the county council about potential use of the vacant space on the second floor (of the council offices) but no decisions have been made.”