A jobcentre serving east Manchester is to close within the next year and move into a new £22 million pound 'community hub' less than a mile away it has been announced.
The new 'Gorton Hub' which is currently under construction and is due to open this Autumn, is aiming to become a "one-stop-shop" for public services locals may need.
The building on Hyde Road in the centre of Gorton will see a new council-run library, a GP practice, pharmacy, health and social care services and housing offices all brought under one roof.
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And the area's jobcentre will also move into the building and be part of the offering it was confirmed today (Thursday).
The current Jobcentre Plus building in Openshaw, will close by March next year and take up residence in the new facility, Gorton MP Afzal Khan revealed.
Staff at the facility on Cornwall Street were informed of the news today (Thursday). There are expected to be no job losses as a result of the plans which will be consulted on with trade unions, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed.
They said all Work Coaches were expected to transfer over to the new Gorton site and that there would be 'no impact on the delivery of local services.' They added in the 'unlikely' event that any staff were not able to transfer they would seek their redeployment within DWP or another government department.
A letter to Mr Khan, from the Minister for Employment Mims Davies, which he shared on Twitter said: "This is a great opportunity and will enable the Department to provide improved facilities for customers and colleagues who will now operate from a modern, greener, facility whilst maintaining vital services to customers."
A DWP spokesperson said in a statement: “We are making use of a lease break to move Manchester Openshaw JCP staff and services to a better office less than a mile away to improve services for claimants and have a better working environment for staff – no job losses are expected as a result.”
Mr Khan said he was 'delighted' at the news and that he was looking forward to seeing the project completed. Gorton ward councillor Julie Reid said: "We have been working on this for quite some time now.
"It was delayed by Covid but it's being built really quickly and we have caught up if not overtaken the timetable. And the sooner we can get one-stop-shop for Gorton residents the better. We hope this will hope spark regeneration of the wider area as well."
A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: "It's great news that Job Centre Plus have signed up to be part of the Gorton Hub development. The aim of this project is to bring a wide range of health, social care and community services together for the first time - delivering a one-stop-shop for residents in Gorton to meet their needs quickly and under one roof."
Building giant Morgan Sindall have been appointed as the contractor for the project with work having already begun on the site, and the frame of the building now in place. The building work is expected to be finished around October-time.
The existing Gorton library will remain open until the new one is open to ensure a ‘seamless transition’. Gorton was chosen to be a testbed for the new facility due its ‘significant deprivation and poor health’, and the fact there are fewer doctors working there.
However, town hall chiefs hope the community 'one-stop shop' will help drive regeneration and become a blueprint for other areas.
