Post Office ‘letting down rural communities hit by closures’
THE POST Office is being taken to task for failing to provide alternative services in two East Yorkshire villages.
Residents were promised an outreach service an afternoon or two a week following the closures of village shops in Barmston and Rudston.
But it has been more “stop than start” and both are currently without a service.
Now councillors will present a motion demanding an “acceptable” service from the Post Office, which recently made a profit for the first time in 16 years.
Ward councillor for East Wolds and Coastal Jane Evison said she was bringing the motion “as a last resort” to next week’s meeting of East Riding Council.
She said both villages had offered their halls for an outreach and in the beginning Barmston was getting two afternoons a week.
“It has been intermittent and more stop than start for at least a year,” she said. “Currently both are without a service and have been for a considerable time.”
She added: “They will come one week and say they don’t have stamps; the latest reason they gave was that they didn’t have a secure line for transactions. I get that – but it doesn’t take a year to establish that.”
She said emails and letters had gone unanswered, adding: “I found the contact of one guy at the Post Office who I phone once or twice a week, who says it is down as an urgent issue but nothing happens.
“These are just two I know of in my ward and I am sure there are others in the East Riding.
“You can’t just deliver Post Office services in cities and towns; it’s important to people in rural areas too – they have businesses to run, they need to rely on a service as well. I feel the Post Office has let these communities down.”
The Government announced last month new funding of £370m to secure the future of the Post Office network. Of the money, £160m is being invested to “help protect smaller branches”.
The Post Office apologised for delays in resolving the issues.