ABERGAVENNY Citizens' Advice Bureau could be in trouble now the owners of the building they share have put up the rent they pay, warned a town councillor.

Councillor Norma Watkins, a trustee for Citizens' Advice Bureau, told her fellow members of Abergavenny Town Council that CAB uses rooms at the Multi Agency Centre in Monk Street which is owned by Llamau mediation service and Women's Aid.

She said, "When Monmouthshire County Council sold the building last year there was a gentleman's agreement that CAB could continue to use the building and they paid £1,200 rent last year.

"Then this year we were asked for £6,000 a year, made up of £2,000 for heating and lighting, £1,500 for cleaning and maintenance, £850 for rates and £1,000 for telephones and IT but we have one telephone, we do our own cleaning and we pay our own rates.

" They said it costs them £17,500 a year to run that building.

"There are 11 rooms in the front of the building but never have all the rooms been used at one time, half of them are used a few hours a day.

"We use two rooms and we have looked at other offices in town but we can't afford to pay commercial rents. The number of people coming to us for help keeps going up, we have had 3,759 contacts this year already.

"The two other CABs in Monmouthshire are housed in council buildings, so MCC have left us high and dry, they sold the building from under us and we are struggling, our money will be gone by the end of the year.

"CAB will not exist in Abergavenny if this continues. We are asking for a meeting because our lease ends on July 3."

Councillor Amanda Dell said she is a member of the trustee board and the situation was becoming more untenable for CAB to stay in is present home. She suggested asking any community-minded property owners in Abergavenny to come forward with a building they can use.

Councillor John Prosser said, "These are both vital services sharing this building and they are fighting to survive. I hope a liaison of the trustees does happen and the CAB appeal works and they thrash out their differences.."

Councillor Douglas Edwards said he felt CAB had a rotten deal from MCC.

"They promised the building would be shared and CAB has ended up the weakest partner. An independent negotiator should get around the table with the three organisations or CAB could look for a building on the cheap."

Councillor Paul Wadsworth said the news was not nice to hear because his staff sent people with problems to CAB and they helped to sort them out.

Councillor Watkins said Llamau had been given a grant to buy the building by the Welsh Assembly and they had taken Women's Aid as their partner.

The mayor, Councillor Jane Foulser said she remembered the good work which CAB carried out and she was sad to hear this news.

No-one from Llamau was available for comment as The Chronicle went to Press