ADVICE about housing, banking, debt, unemployment and volunteering is available all at the same place for the first time in Poole.

The one-stop shop close to the town centre was launched by Poole mayor Councillor Peter Adams.

“To have a hub where someone can talk to a person about financial difficulties and then take them next door to be helped further really makes sense,” said Cllr Adams.

The community hub has been created at Poole Housing Partnership’s offices, Beech House in Wimborne Road, where the organisation that manages Borough of Poole’s housing stock has been since 2004.

Now their headquarters has been transformed in order to provide new homes for some of the town’s most useful and sought out local organisations.

Poole Citizens Advice Bureau and Poole Council for Voluntary Service, a credit union bank, Coastal Community Savings and Loans sit alongside Poole Well-being Collaborative, which provides access to information and services, and Sandbourne Housing Association which provides more than 400 homes at affordable rents.

Su Spence, PHP’s director of finance and resources, who led the refurbishment project, said: “We are really pleased to be able to launch the new community hub, which will add real benefit not just to PHP residents but to the whole community in Poole.

“We have already seen real improvements in the services we offer and things can only get better in future.”

The ground floor and reception area have been refurbished, new meeting spaces added on all floors, with a new resource centre set up on the top floor with IT facilities and free internet.

PHP took over the head lease of the large building in 2013.

PHP’s search for partner organisations to complement their services resulted in the Beech House community hub.