NEW moves are being made to ensure the continuation of the Citizens Advice Bureau in Thornbury, just months after a successful Gazette campaign kept the vital service running.

The community responded with generosity to an appeal to raise the £12,000 needed for the bureau to stay open for a year.

It gave breathing space to enable the CAB to make longer-term plans for the service it provides in the area.

Now Thornbury and Yate MP Steve Webb and the South Gloucestershire Citizens Advice Bureau are working together on a new bid that will go to the Severn Vale Area Forum next week (dec 4).

The CAB will ask for £13,000 from the New Homes Bonus, which is available to local authorities, to help fund the service.

The money is being made available as a result of the hundreds of new homes that Thornbury is due to get, potentially bringing more people into the area who will benefit from the CAB services.

If the area forum decides to back the bid, it will then go to South Gloucestershire Council officers for consideration, with a decision likely to be made next spring.

Christine Kenny, chief executive of South Gloucestershire CAB, said the amount requested would cover running costs for another year but she would also be seeking support for similar sums to be granted over the next five years in order to provide stability.

She said: "The recent campaign raised awareness of the services offered by Thornbury CAB and use of the bureau is increasing. We had a 20 per cent increase in demand in the six months to September this year compared to the same period in 2012.

"We want to be able to plan for the long term and keep a presence in Thornbury - a grant from this council fund would enable us to do that.

"We want to be there to meet the needs of new residents as well as existing families."

Most of the funding for South Gloucestershire CAB's work comes from South Gloucestershire Council but it is directed at priority neighbourhoods, a category into which Thornbury does not fall.

Thornbury Town Council provides office space free of charge, leaving the CAB to find the remaining money needed for it to open on two mornings a week and meet appointments at other times.

The CAB supports people coping with illness, financial problems and other difficult times.

But it found itself in danger of closing after all legal aid funding was withdrawn from charities nationwide.

Mr Webb said: “The generous response of local people to this year’s appeal shows how much the CAB is valued. Serving not just Thornbury but also the surrounding communities, the CAB provides an important place for free and impartial advice on benefits, debt, housing and a range of other issues.

"I hope councillors will respond positively to this application so that this much-needed service can be sustained."