THE head of the Citizens Advice Service has categorically denied rumours they are looking to move to Honiton �– and said the service was totally committed to Exmouth.

THE head of the Citizens' Advice Service has categorically denied rumours they are looking to move to Honiton �- and said the service was 'totally committed' to Exmouth.

Chris Griffiths, the district manager of the CAS, said, if anything, they wanted to improve the help they gave people by ploughing more money into services through looking at ways to slash running costs.

One option was to move from their base at Exmouth Town Hall and find town premises with lower overheads.

He has written to Devon County Council and landlords East Devon District Council, which both part-fund the service, asking for suggestions.

Rent and maintenance costs for their current base this year were a shade over �10,000, eight per cent more than the previous 12 months.

He said: "There is no truth to rumours that we are moving to Honiton. Like all charities, we have limited financial resources, and we are always looking to cut our running costs so we can use them more effectively to advise clients.

"There has never been any talk by anybody about leaving Exmouth - it is Devon's largest town and it is simply out of the question.

"We are totally committed to Exmouth. All we are doing is exploring the possibilities so we can better use our financial resources."

With the current Exmouth lease expiring in spring 2011, he added: "We want to find alternative, comparable premises and we will not diminish services in anyway.