More than 500 staff at the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), the National Youth Agency (NYA), Learndirect and the Community Education Development Centre (CEDC) will combine their national headquarters in a “learning village”.

Nothing like it has ever been considered before, according to Alan Tuckett, director of NIACE: “I stress that it is not a merger, but there is no sense in continuing as wholly separate organisations if we really are about lifelong learning.”

Unveiling the plans at the start of Adult Learners Week, he said the village would be a dedicated centre for national adult and youth service organisations to hone their skills.

Accommodating everyone in a single building would also help prevent duplication of their work.

Leicester is the most likely location and, if agreement is reached on the centre, it would make the city the lifelong-learning capital of the country, he said.

The NYA and NIACE are at the forefront of the move, which also has backing from one of the two Learndirect national helplines. All three already operate from Leicester, but in separate offices, and often in ways remote from one another.

Now they believe that working under the same roof will help them share expertise and attract bigger research grants. They will also be able to offer state-of-the-art conference facilities and store a lifelong learning archive.

A formal merger is not on the agenda, said Alan Tuckett. “Neither us nor the NYA think it sensible to depart from our individual autonomy. But both organisations can see the benefits of operating more closely with each other.”

Further support has been pledged from the CEDC, based in Coventry, though it is unlikely it will move staff “lock, stock and barrel” to the new venture in Leicester, said director Phil Street. “The initiative is a synergy of adult, youth and community services under-valued by local education authorities.”

A review of NIACE and the NYA by the Office for Public Management for the Local Government Association 18 months ago gave both a clean bill of health. But the review concluded that many LEAs were unaware of the services provided by the separate national bodies. Working closer together could help give adult and youth services a more powerful voice.

The LGA, which currently gives around pound;1 million a year to NIACE and the NYA, is sponsoring talks on the learning village with a pound;30,000 feasibility grant.

“LEAs have not sold out on youth work,” said Neil Fletcher, the LGA’s director of lifelong learning. “But when the chips are down then schools have more political clout.”