Helston Library, Jobcentre and One Stop Shop are to move under one roof in the town.

Cornwall Council confirmed on Monday that Helston Library in the Trengrouse Way car park will be the new home for all three services.

As a result, the library's opening hours are expected to be extended, with the move likely to take place in the autumn.

It follows an announcement from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) last week about the impending closure of Helston's Jobcentre Plus office in Coinagehall Street.

The DWP published plans to close and merge many of its centres in the UK, to make savings of £180 million over the next ten years. Among the centres earmarked to “divest” was Helston, with Liskeard the only other office in Cornwall to be affected.

The branch has faced a rocky few years, with an earlier threat of closure leading to the centre's opening hours being reduced to just two days a week in 2008. It was returned to full hours the following year, however, following a campaign led by then MP Andrew George.

Now it looks set to close completely and instead relocate to the library, which was marked in the proposals as a "co-location," where local authority and other community services can be found in one place.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: "We are pleased to be working with the DWP to preserve local facilities in both Liskeard and Helston. This will save money for both organisations and enable services to continue to be delivered from local buildings.

"In Helston the Jobcentre will be sharing premises with the library. This will preserve access to the Jobcentre and ensure the library has a flexible space that will allow it to deliver a modern service.

"It will also mean we are able to extend the library’s opening hours.

"The information service that is currently delivered from Isaac House will be moving to Helston Library too, making it easier for people to access more services in one place."

Currently services such as council tax payments and access to credit union and housing support can be found in the One Stop Shop based in the Coinage Ope alleyway.

Costcutting is the main reason behind the decision by the DWP, which has said that 20 per cent of its office space is being under-used nationally. At the same time, the way services are provided has changed “significantly” in recent years, with eight out of ten claims for Jobseeker’s Allowance and 99.6 per cent of applicants for Universal Credit submitting their claims online.

The planned changes will be made in consultation with staff, who will have the option to relocate or be offered alternative roles in the “vast majority” of cases.