Citizens Advice Wandsworth and the University of Roehampton join forces


Justine Greening MP at the opening event of the Roehampton Advice Centre with Lucy Harmer, Chair of trustees of CAW (centre) and Mary-Ann Foxwell Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Wandsworth (right) - © University of Roehampton.

Citizens Advice Wandsworth (CAW), in partnership with the University of Roehampton, opened its new Roehampton Advice Centre with a ceremony event last night, Wednesday, 21 November at the Picasso Building, Mount Clare, in Roehampton, London. Justine Greening, Member of Parliament for Putney, Roehampton and Southfields; Prof Paul O’Prey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Roehampton; and Polly Toynbee, journalist and social commentator, were among the guests at the opening event.

The Roehampton Advice Centre will allow CAW to continue to provide information and advice services to the Roehampton residents of Wandsworth. Located on the edge of the Alton Estate in Roehampton, in a building which is part of the University, the new Centre will enable CAW to offer local residents information and advice, such as social welfare legal guidance, from locally-based affordable facilities.

By joining forces with the University of Roehampton, and in particular its Law School, CAW is able to continue to provide its much needed services in the heart of the Roehampton district in Wandsworth. The new facilities will offer a secure and comfortable environment for clients, employees and volunteers. In the future, the University’s law students will also benefit from the opportunity to contribute to service provision, giving them valuable practice based learning experience whilst meeting local demand for advice. The University and CAW welcome opportunities for ongoing collaboration and to increase local impact facilitated by their partnership.

The Roehampton Advice Centre is open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays, providing a mixture of advice appointments, information and signposting. On other days the Centre will offer appointment-only services with specialist advisers. Over the next 12 months it is anticipated 1800 residents will get help and advice in the new Centre.

Professor Paul O’Prey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Roehampton, explained: “Our partnership with Citizens Advice Wandsworth will allow us to both offer our law students the practical and on-the-job experience needed to flourish in their future career, and also help local residents with much needed advisory and support services. I am confident the new Roehampton Advice Centre will become a place of great value to our students and Roehampton residents alike.”

Citizens Advice Wandsworth Chief Executive Mary-Ann Foxwell said: “I am delighted that thanks to the support of the University of Roehampton we have been able to retain a Roehampton Advice Centre. We know how much local residents value our advice and support, and how important it is that we are accessible. Roehampton is an area of high need that lacks infrastructure, its poor transport links mean it is also isolated – for these reasons we were determined to keep a Roehampton Advice Centre, and are grateful that the University shared this goal. We look forward to working with the University of Roehampton to meet local advice need, whilst at the same time working with the law students to help prepare them for their future careers.”

Wandsworth Council finance spokesman Cllr Guy Senior said: “The council is proud of our long association with, and financial support for, the Wandsworth Citizens Advice Service. It’s important to us that our residents get the free advice they need, where and when they need it, so we are delighted that this new facility is now available in Roehampton.”

November 28, 2018