In May 1978, a small group of people, passionate about providing free and low-cost legal advice to the people of Swindon, attended the Law Centres Federation national development conference to hear about how Law Centres could be set up. On 3rd November 1981, they established Thamesdown Law Centre, the first Law Centre outside of London.
In recent years, we have met the challenges of the continuing loss of housing Legal Aid provision in South and Southwest England, growing from a charity based largely in Swindon to one that addresses the needs of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire and the surrounding areas.
To address the growing Legal Aid desert in south and southwest England, we have significantly expanded our housing law programme, and we now represent clients from West Sussex to Worcestershire and from eastern Hampshire to Devon. We hold Housing Legal Aid contracts for the following regions: Hampshire, Gloucestershire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton and Wiltshire.
We also hold Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service contracts—enabling us to provide early legal advice and court duty—for: Aldershot, Basingstoke, Gloucester, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Salisbury, Southampton and Swindon.
With support from our funders, we have rebuilt our welfare benefits appeals programme. By providing benefits advice and representation, clients can avoid other legal and personal difficulties (e.g., concerning their housing and health).
