LUDGERSHALL Town Council has its own High Street presence for the first time in its 100-year history.

The council decided to operate an office from a commercial location last year, but the opening only took place on Friday when local MP Claire Perry cut the ribbon to officially open the facility.

Council chairman Owen White, said: “We have had a vast number of problems and it seemed at one point we were taking one step forward and three steps back but now we have reached the stage when we can open.

“It is needed because the work we are involved in has become more complex and there was too much to keep in a private house.

“We also needed to be on the street where people can see us as we want to be open and transparent as we always have been.

“It has proved popular so far and on Monday we had nine people in here at one time using such things as the free internet connection.

“People looking for work find it very useful as it saves them going into Andover on the bus so they are not out of pocket.”

The town council says is happy to advertise job vacancies in the town in the office window to help get people back into work.

Claire Perry praised the council for its initiative.

She said: “Now there is a tangible sense of the council being in the community with people coming and being involved in jobs, promoting volunteering and services – part of the glue that binds our communities together.”

Ludgershall Town Council is one of the most active minor local authorities in the area, responsible for car parking, allotments, the cemetery, recreation ground and Jubilee Gardens, two play parks, the war memorial as well as consultations with outside bodies, such as Wiltshire Council’s planning department.