MONMOUTH’S Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) will close in June after its trustees board admitted defeat in a three-year funding battle.

Its base on Whitecross Street will be shut following 47 uninterrupted years of supporting the town and its surrounding villages with a CAB branch.

It is run by six part-time members of staff and a host of volunteers.

The chairwoman of the bureau, Rosamund Blomfield-Smith, said: “The Monmouth bureau has been fighting against taking this decision for over three years now.”

She assured users the service would not be simply “petering out” until it is closed but will be providing full services until it shuts its doors in two months’ time.

Mrs Blomfield-Smith said funding from Monmouthshire Council has been reduced and that the Monmouth CAB will be financing operations out of its reserves from this month until its closure.

She added she hopes people’s needs would be met in the future by a new Monmouthshire Council advice branch opening in the town.

But she added the branch’s trustees were “much distressed” on making their decision to close.

The charity has offices in Chepstow and Abergavenny.

It also provides outreach support sessions at Chepstow Community Hospital.

The charity’s Monmouthshire headquarters are in Caldicot.

The charity seeks to provide people with free and confidential information or advice to help people with problems they might have with financial, legal or consumer problems.

And it said it will also be looking to provide outreach sessions in Wyesham and Usk.

The director of Citizens Advice Cymru Fran Targett said: “It is always very sad when a bureau closes, but we are confident that the people of Monmouthshire will not see any difference in the quality of the service provided.”

Anyone who requires the CAB’s advice can also call its telephone advice line on 03444 77 20 20.