Credit union office opens at Seven Corners, Abergavenny

Residents and visitors to Abergavenny can now call in and join Gateway Credit Union on Tuesday afternoons, Abergavenny's busiest market day.

A new credit union office has opened in the Annexe to Seven Corners Youth Centre, Seven Corners Lane, and is being run by volunteers every Tuesday afternoon from 2.30pm to 4.30 pm.

A credit union works like a bank by lending money and helping people save, however, it is a cooperative and is owned by those who use it.

Seven Corners serves mostly young people, offering advice, company and a café, as well as counselling services.

They also host advice services including the Wallich young people's homelessness charity and Fusion for drug and alcohol problems.

The credit union service welcomes people of all ages, and operates from Seven Corners's recently opened annexe and office, adjoining the café, with a separate entrance.

Sara Burch, Gateway Development Worker for Monmouthshire said:

 "We're really grateful to Seven Corners for offering us a town centre presence in their newly refurbished facilities. We hope to be very busy soon, as word gets around about Gateway's great value loans and easy savings products.

"Gateway welcomes everybody - even people who may have difficulty using banks and building societies because they are not homeowners, aren't currently working or have a poor credit history.

"We'd like to be open every day in Abergavenny, but would need more volunteers to do so.

"Volunteers are trained to deal with basic cash transactions and then move on to taking loan applications and other processes. It's a good way to meet people and serve the community, but for some volunteers it has also been a stepping stone to a new job."

This is the third credit union office to open in Abergavenny. The others are at Communities First, Hillcrest Rd (Tuesdays 12 noon to 2pm) and the Acorn Centre, Deri View School, (Fridays 9.30am to11.30am).

Members can also save by standing order, cheque or PayPoint card.

Now that Gateway is able to welcome members from anywhere in Monmouthshire, Credit Union Manager John Richards is keen to hear from other community venues which would like to add a credit union service to their activities, and from people who would like to get involved.

Credit unions are run largely by volunteers. For more information contact Gateway on 01495 750020; look on the website - www.gatewaycu.co.uk