ALTON’S Citizens Advice and East Hampshire District Council’s (EHDC) information office will close for two weeks in May for “important repair and refurbishment work” to the building on Cross and Pillory Lane.

Owned by EHDC, the Grade II Listed building is to undergo structural work to its floor and the ground-floor office will be refurbished with a new reception counter and upgrades made to the IT and telephone system. The total cost of the works will be £5,000.

The closure is expected to run from Monday, May 9, to Saturday, May 23, and will affect the EHDC presence office, the visitor information centre and Citizens Advice, all of whom share the building.

The district council presence office is regularly used by residents seeking help and advice on housing benefit, council tax and other council services.

During the temporary closure of the Alton office, residents will be able to access these services via the district council’s offices at Penns Place, Petersfield, by calling 01730 266551, or at the Forest Community Centre, Bordon, on 01420 488978.

District council officers will also be on hand to discuss issues and answer queries at Alton Town Hall between 9am and 4pm on May 10, May 12, May 17, and May 19.

Radian Housing Association, which usually holds a surgery at the Alton office on Fridays, has also made alternative arrangements and can be contacted on 0300 123 1567 on Friday, May 13, and Friday, May 20.

During this time Alton Citizens Advice, which occupies the first-floor offices at the Cross and Pillory Lane premises, will run a skeleton service from the Alton Food Bank offices in the Market Square, from where it will continue to offer immediate help to clients on a drop-in basis, along with limited appointments.

The opening hours will be Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9.30am to 4pm.

It should be noted that the service on offer at the food bank will be in an open-plan office and as such will not be entirely private.

Clients will still be able to access Citizens Advice services through Adviceline on 0344 4111306 and webchat at citzensadvice.org.uk.