A charity which helps people with a range of financial, employment and housing issues has opened its newly relocated headquarters in Hanley.

Citizens Advice Staffordshire North and Stoke-on-Trent is now based at Mitchell House off Town Road. 

Advice House in Hanley town centre -  where the charity was based for 30 years - has been left vacant. 

The move has also seen the closure of Canal Arm at Festival Park, and Brindley Court in Newcastle-under-Lyme. 

CEO of the charity, Craig Browne, said: "Advice House was quite a dated building and not a great space to work in. 

"We had staff, particularly on the ground floor, who were working in areas without any natural light. 

Craig Browne is the CEO of Citizens Advice Staffordshire North and Stoke-on-Trent. (Nub News)

"From the client's perspective our new space is a one stop shop so we no longer have to direct people to teams in other locations if someone presents with another issue as everyone is under the same roof. We can now just call someone upstairs."

The new space, at Mitchell House, is not a drop-in centre and those needing advice would need to book an appointment online or over the phone if they wanted face-to-face support. 

Craig, who took over as CEO around 18 months ago, says the charity supported around 21,000 people three years ago in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire but last year this figure rose to 33,000 people. 

He added: "I think this is a reflection upon certainly the cost of living. 

"That's a lot of what we hear. But the number one issue is personal debt. Personal debt over that same three-year period has grown from collective, last year it was 212 million collectively. 

"We've designed this building with a view to the future so it isn't 100% full. 

The office includes a wellbeing room for staff and volunteers. (Nub News)

"We've got room to grow into it. We're also looking to develop a volunteer training centre of excellence that is something that we can offer not just to the rest of the Citizens Advice network, but potentially other charities as well."

The charity is also planning to open a new shop in Hanley town centre which will provide an internet cafe and some drop-in services.

The new office space features an improved environment for the 180 staff and 50 volunteers who work there. This includes a wellbeing room, faith room, and kitchen spaces.