UK Post Offices are on the move to protect rural service
MOBILE post offices are going on the road to save services for six County Durham communities.
Counters are being set up a few hours a week in Escomb, Toronto, Witton Park, Fir Tree, Witton-le-Wear, all in Wear Valley, and Cornsay Colliery, near Durham.
Subpostmasters are due to resign in Escomb, Toronto and Witton Park and premises have already closed in the other three.
Margaret McCombie, subpostmaster at Tow Law, has been appointed to provide the mobile service offering banking, bill payment, travel insurance and car tax.
Locations and visiting times will be finalised after consultation with residents but it is expected to visit Witton Park and Toronto for eight hours each week and Escomb for two hours each week.
It will park in Fir Tree, Witton-le-Wear and Cornsay Colliery for one hour each.
Rural development manager Matt Silcock said the aim was to safeguard the long-term future of services.
He said: “We are fully committed to maintaining a presence in these six villages and we believe the changes we are proposing are a possible solution to the long-term provision of our services.”
The national network of 8,000 rural post offices runs at an annual loss of £140m and the business is investigating ways of reaching rural communities across the UK.
