A SOCIAL housing giant has been accused of “deserting” Teessiders by closing helpdesks in two towns.

Councillors north and south of the Tees have shared dismay at the impending closure of Thirteen’s desks at Thornaby and Billingham libraries.

The help-desks will shut this Friday.

But Stockton Council leader Cllr Bob Cook said he was “doubly disappointed” given his Labour councillors only found out about the withdrawal on social media.

He said: “Given that most of Thirteen’s housing stock was built by local authorities with public money – and given to them in good faith when the housing was outsourced some years ago – councillors might be forgiven that they would expect consultation with them as elected representatives of the communities they serve.

“Instead, Thirteen’s actions give the impression of a high-handed organisation which is deserting our communities.”

The Thirteen Group was formed out of five social housing providers in 2017 and manages more than 30,000 homes.

The firm unveiled a £1bn investment plan last year to improve its existing stock and build 3,000 “affordable and shared ownership homes”.

Cllr Cook claimed the firm was making decisions about services in Thornaby and Billingham “without talking to anyone”.

And he wanted to see the offices in Thornaby Pavilion and Kingsway retained.

It was a view shared by Thornaby independent Cllr Luke Frost.

The member for Mandale and Victoria added: “It’s disappointing that Thirteen feel the need to pull out of the town.

“This is yet another service that has left the town and access to help and support will be challenging from here on in.

“We have assurance that residents can contact neighbourhood co-ordinators to arrange home visits but we know this is not ideal for all residents.

“I hope that Thirteen reconsider this or at least look at a viable solution to ensure easy access to services is maintained.”

But Thirteen says it’s been in talks with the council about the changes since November – with rent still able to be paid at libraries.

A Thirteen spokeswoman added: “We have been discussing these changes with Stockton Council for several months – including discussions about Thirteen’s investment in Stockton town centre with the newly opened pop-up shop, and a permanent premises on the High Street due to open in late spring.

“Due to the increasingly low customer footfall at the Billingham and Thornaby libraries desks, we took the decision to reduce the opening hours and then to close them.

“However, we have neighbourhood co-ordinators working on the ground in these areas who are easily accessible to customers and offer regular drop-in surgeries, giving access to the vast majority of services previously offered at the libraries.”