Scores of Post Offices are shut 'Temporarily'
Jamie McGinnes SCORES of post offices are lying empty and unused in the Westcountry because no-one can be found to run them, a postal workers’ representative said yesterday.
The revelation follows the launch of a desperate appeal by Cornish MP Matthew Taylor for someone to re-open two village post offices that have been “temporarily” shut for a year.
The communities of the West Cornwall villages of Feock and Goonbell have been warned that their post offices will remain shut unless someone comes forward to take them over.
Mr Taylor, Lib-Dem MP for Truro and St Austell, said it would be difficult to restore the services if the closures become permanent.
“If the status of Goonbell and Feock branch post offices changes from temporarily closed to permanently closed, then it will become much more difficult to restore the service,” he said.
“That is why I am making such a desperate appeal now – otherwise these villages will probably be without a post office forever. I hope that my appeal will bring this situation to the attention of someone that can help.”
Ian Park, secretary of the South West National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, said there is a backlog of dozens of post offices that have been closed “temporarily,” dating back as far as six years.
“This idea of ‘closing temporarily’ is because the Post Office would like there to be an office, but either there is no-one prepared to do it or there is no-one who has the ability to do it,” he said.
“There are dozens in Devon alone and many more around the region that have been supposedly temporarily closed – some going back four, five or even six years.
“They are normally shut down because the owner becomes sick or because they do not have the ability to run the office. The offices remain closed until someone comes forward.”
Mr Taylor emphasised the importance of post offices to rural communities.
“Post offices provide a range of important services which become even more crucial in village branches,” he said. “The lack of adequate public transport in Cornwall means that people in the villages without their own cars can become very easily isolated, making them even more reliant on services provided locally. The closure of these post office branches would be a significant loss to these communities.
“I am stepping up the pressure on the Government to introduce measures to help village post offices financially. The sad fact is that many are closing because people are struggling to make a living from them.”
Adrian Booth, spokesman for the Post Office, said: “Everyone agrees that the post office is a very useful asset in a rural community, but sadly not everyone uses it when it’s there.”
