Residents vote in favour of office move

Merlin Housing Society residents have voted overwhelmingly in favour of moving the Kingswood Area Housing Office back to Kingswood.

Last month Merlin wrote to all 2,700 residents served by its Kingswood office asking them whether they’d support a move back to Kingswood or would prefer the office to remain at its present location in Cadbury Heath. More than 800 residents responded, and 96% were in favour of the move.

Merlin is now likely to press ahead with plans to purchase land next to the Kingswood Civic Centre in the High Street where it hopes to build a new housing office and ten new flats.

Chief executive Ian Matthews said: “We had to move out of the Civic Centre when we took over from the Council in 2007 but we said at the time that we’d look at whether we could move back to Kingswood. We’d never consider moving if it was against the wishes of our residents but the survey shows that they clearly support this move and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to respond.

“Moving the office to Kingswood would mean that it’d be easier to reach for the majority of residents and it’s right next door to the Council’s one-stop shop. The site would also allow us to develop ten much-needed new homes for families in South Gloucestershire.”