A DECISION to close civil service offices “ignores the devastating impact” on the more than 80 employees that work there and area in which they live.

Helen Goodman, MP for Bishop Auckland, is calling on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to visit staff at Vinovium House in the town and see the effect it would have.

The call comes as the Public and Commercial Services Union launches a campaign to save the last remaining civil servants in the town.

The 83 Child Support Agency (CSA) staff, many of whom live in the town and surrounding areas, including Newton Aycliffe, Spennymoor and Crook, were told the news last week.

“The DWP has said it will look to find them other civil service jobs “in the travel to work area”, many of them say this move will not be practical.

In her letter to the minister of employment Damian Hinds, Mrs Goodman states: “This proposal for closure has clearly been made without any due diligence or equality impact assessments as it ignores the devastating impact on the staff as well as the local economy.

“There is no evidence that your department has a coherent plan for the transfer of staff. I would strongly suggest that the people responsible for this proposal stop sitting in their London office using Google Maps, and actually visit Bishop Auckland.

“Then travel to your sites in Washington and Newcastle during commuting times and by public transport as it will become patently clear that it is not reasonable in most cases, not just a small number.

“To travel by public transport from Bishop Auckland to the Longbenton (Newcastle) site would be a four to five-hour round trip involving six to eight buses and trains.”

She adds: “A true northern powerhouse would ensure that civil service employment continues to play a key role in supporting local economies and I therefore demand that this consultation truly listens to the staff and local community by retaining the DWP offices at Vinovium House.”

The DWP has said it is not their intention to make redundancies and discussions were ongoing with local landlords about the possibility of keeping an office in the town.

The proposal to close the CSA office comes as part of DWP’s plans to downsize its estate in order to save £180m over the next ten years.

In recent years Bishop Auckland has seen the closure of its magistrates’ court, Driving Standards Agency centre and HMRC offices.

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

The Sadler Street premises is one of several in the town centre to have closed their doors in recent months and follows Beales department store, which closed in December.