TAVISTOCK and Okehampton Citizens Advice Bureaux will officially merge to form a new management committee at the end of this month.
The new West Devon Citizens Advice Bureau will have its inaugural meeting on October 31 after the existing committees are dissolved.
The changes are purely managerial and the existing branches will continue to function as normal, except that the
Tavistock Bureau will be closed on the day of the meeting.
The management overhaul is part of a nationwide bid by the CAB to keep costs down by merging Bureaux to form several larger committees.
Michael Edmonds, chairman of Tavistock CAB, said: 'The new management committee will consist of legal trustees, like a board of directors.
'In the future, we hope to expand the services of both branches, and increase the opening hours of the Okehampton Bureau in line with Tavistock.
'We also plan to open satellite bureaux in other towns in the West Devon area.'
Among the places earmarked for 'satellite' offices are Hatherleigh, Bere Alston and Chagford.
Last year, the 26
volunteers at the Tavistock CAB dealt with 7,761 client enquiries.
Dr Edmonds said there were four vacancies for trustees on the new West Devon committee.
The ideal candidates would be professional people with past business experience and a strong interest in the work of the CAB.
Anybody interested in the posts can contact Dr Edmonds on 01822 617732.