THE bureau was set up in 1952 by the Women's Voluntary Service (now Women's Royal Voluntary Service) to offer local residents free, confidential and impartial advice on issues ranging from family to mortgages.o

Originally based at the Crown Buildings in Crows Road, the charitable organisation moved to St John's Church in 1967 before relocating to Hemnall Street in the early 1980s.

Liz Scott, who has been the manager since 1994, said the anniversary was a "great milestone", adding that the group wanted to continue serving local people to the best of its ability.

"Although our aims and objectives have remained the same, a number of other things have undergone quite a lot of change," she said. "For instance, we handled about 66 cases in our first year, which had risen to 7,791 by 2001."

Another noteworthy change over the years has been the bureau's yearly balance, which increased from a paltry £9 in 1954 to £4,342 last year.

The bureau, which had its first annual general meeting in 1952, was originally managed by about four or five volunteers. This had increased to about 15 by 1977 and now stands at 25, with three paid managers.

Miss Scott said the opening hours had also increased over time, from 2pm to 4pm every Monday to Friday in 1977, to 10am to 2pm now, with an additional couple of hours 5pm to 7pm on Wednesdays.

Miss Scott said: "Also, incredible as it may sound, we received a combined grant of £10 from Epping Forest Council and Essex County Council in 1977, which has now gone up to £40,000.

"While family, personal and property-related cases have shown a steady rise over the years, it's the consumer cases, which also include debt-related problems, that have escalated rapidly. For instance, we offered advice for 241 cases in 1997, which had risen to 2,273 by last year.

"Our job is to ensure that individuals don't suffer through lack of knowledge of their rights and responsibilities or of the services available, or through an inability to express their needs properly."

July 9, 2002 11:30