NZ Post to close more branches

Coromandel residents don’t like the idea of losing their post office.

New Zealand Post announced on Wednesday that they are looking to close down post offices in Thames and Whitianga, the most populated towns in the district.

Businesses are being sought in each town to operate as a postal outlet.

Eighty-one-year-old Thames resident Bob Arnold, who had just collected an urgent courier package from the post office, thought it was going to be ‘‘bad news’’.

At his age, he would not always be able to easily go out of town to another post office, he said.

Arnold was concerned postal outlets would not offer the same services as the New Zealand Post office.

Lesley Spencer found it much better having the post office together with Kiwibank so she could get two things done at once.

She thought it would impact the postal service because staff at postal outlets would not necessarily be as familiar with the products and services.

Heather Hall was also disappointed at the announcement.

She thought people would begin to not bother with the postal service without a standalone post office, especially with Thames’ ageing population.

‘‘It’s not very good for Thames,’’ Hall said.

New Zealand Post head of retail Mark Yagmich said working with local businesses as postal outlets helped meet the company’s obligations.

‘‘This model works well for us, and for the businesses we work with, which generally benefit from increased foot traffic as people come in to buy stamps and drop off their parcels.’’

Kiwibank announced they would open standalone branches in Thames and Whitianga.

A New Zealand Post spokesperson said there was no timeframe in place in the search for postal outlets.

They said there would be no changes to the New Zealand Post or Kiwibank branches in either town whilst they searched for a suitable partner and the deal was secured – ‘‘which can take months’’.

Thames’ New Zealand Post office and Kiwibank are already set to cease Saturday trading after November 24.

Customers would have to wait until Monday or travel at least 25km to the nearest open branch instead.