YOUNG people’s council services are being relocated to run under one roof in the centre of Swindon.

The move, which will cost £1.4m, plans to bring the majority of staff working with young people to Clarence House. The building will undergo a major refurbishment to cater for the increase of staff using the premises.

Swindon Council’s cabinet approved the proposals at a meeting on Wednesday.

It is hoped the relocation will improve information sharing and make it easier for youngsters to find the correct support.

Speaking at the meeting, hosted at the Civic Offices, Coun Brian Mattock, cabinet member for health and adult social care, said it was a ‘win-win’ situation.

“It will not only bring our staff together but also make it easier for the police and other organisations to reach the correct person,” said Coun Mattock.

“I imagine cross-party support, as it’s a win-win on all sides. I’m very excited about what we can achieve collectively.”

Money spent on the project is expected to be repaid in two years, due to savings created by closing other buildings in use at the moment.

A report for the project found the current locations of a large number of staff no longer reflected the teams they were working with, making communication difficult.

“This will mean making the best decisions for our young people will be made easier,” said Coun Mattock. “This will benefit young people and the council’s revenues will be repaid in two years. It’s going to be a very good deal indeed.”

But Coun Bob Wright (Lab, central) queried whether uniting people under one roof would not lead to victims bumping into people they were trying to avoid.

“Some people do not want to be near people they were with in the past, like in domestic violence situations. It doesn’t do any good to bring them into the same building,” said Coun Wright.

“Using the same bus routes and bumping into each other in corridors.”

Coun Mattock said safeguards would be in place to ensure unwanted meetings did not occur.