MORE than 80 civil servants face an uncertain future as an iconic building that has housed them in a County Durham town for more than four decades is set to close.

The 83 Child Support Agency (CSA) staff at Vinovium House, in Bishop Auckland, are said to have been “devastated” by the Department of Work and Pension’s (DWP) announcement on Thursday that the Back of House offices will be closing.

The iconic building, which was completed in 1971, will see its long association with civil servants working in the town officially end in March 2018.

Located in Saddler Street, it is one of several in the town centre which have closed their doors in recent months and follows Beales department store, which closed down in December.

The blow comes as part of the DWP’s plans to downsize their estate in order to save £180million over the next ten years with Vinovium House being one of many coming to the end of its 20-year lease.

Staff, many of them women, said the announcement had “come out of the blue”.

One staff member, who did not want to be named, said: “Everyone was totally devastated. There was a lot of crying going on.

“People were overwhelmed because they didn’t know where to turn to or what to do, it was so unexpected.”

The employee said many of the staff live in the town or the surrounding areas including Spennymoor, Crook, Newton Aycliffe and Ferryhill and although they had been told the DWP would look to find them other civil service jobs "in the travel to work area", she added: “We know there are very few places to go to work as civil servants these days”.

A DWP spokesman confirmed it was not their intention to make redundancies and discussions were still ongoing with local landlords for the possibility of keeping an office in the town.

He said: “These plans are designed to retain the skills and experience of colleagues across the country.

“Individual discussions will be held with staff to agree on their redeployment.”

However, MP for Bishop Auckland, Helen Goodman, said it is “inevitable” that some will lose their jobs.

“I was very shocked to hear that the DWP proposes to close Vinovium House and I have already organised to meet with local staff,” she said.

“Not only is it inevitable that some people will lose their jobs but it will also mean that people who live in and around Bishop Auckland will have to travel further to access DWP support.

“These apparently endless Tory cuts are really undermining life in small towns like Bishop Auckland.

“Many people will have seen the film I Daniel Blake – it is really important that the DWP is properly resourced to give people the help they need.”

Auckland Castle Trust moved their staff into the building this month as the charity works on a £70million project to redevelop the town’s historic castle.

The trust’s headquarters will remain at Vinovium House until all building work is completed, including creation of the new Spanish Art Gallery and Faith Museum, both due to open in 2019 and a Trust spokesman confirmed the DWP announcement does not change their plans.

However, the Trust was not able to give any further comment on speculation it had bought the building.

Other Jobcentres set to close in the region include those in Newcastle, Skipton and South Shields.

The Northern Echo successfully campaigned to save hundreds of civil service jobs in 2013 after the Department of Education did a u-turn on plans to close Mowden Hall and instead built a new purpose-built building.