Still no delivery date for post office (From Romsey Advertiser)

Still no delivery date for post office

9:50am Saturday 3rd January 2009

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ROMSEY’S Great Woodley Post Office will reopen, but exactly when is unclear.

Post Office chiefs say the branch at Warren Gardens, which closed suddenly last August following a routine audit and the “precautionary suspension” of the sub-postmaster, David Nicholas, will definitely reopen, but they cannot give a date.

Although officials are remaining tight-lipped over the exact reasons why the decision was taken to temporary suspend services at Great Woodley Post Office, a spokesman said: “We have a duty of care to the sub-postmaster and to our business to investigate this matter, both correctly and thoroughly, which we are currently doing.

“This is a temporary closure and we are looking to restore services to the area as soon as possible. We would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused by this temporary lapse in service and hope they will continue to access post office services at nearby branches.”

Asked for a reopening date, Mr Nicholas said: “I am not in a position to do so at the moment. We hope to reopen but I cannot say when.”

Meanwhile, campaigners have stepped up their fight to restore post office services in the Woodley area and one shop-owner said he was prepared to take on the franchise if the current sub-postmaster didn’t want to continue.

Siddharth Patel, who runs T & M Stores at nearby Viney Avenue, said: “I’d love to start a post office at Viney Avenue. There is a big call for one here. People are definitely missing the Great Woodley branch.

“I went to Romsey Post Office and I had wait in the queue for 35 minutes just to get to the counter. The elderly have to catch a bus into the town and this takes seven to 10 minutues and then they have to walk from the bus station to the post office. As soon as a post office starts again in the area, it will be a great help to the community.”

Mr Patel said he had already made enquiries to the Post Office about taking on the franchise.

Romsey’s Cupernham ward borough councillor, Dorothy Baverstock, who has been pushing for a resumption of post office services in the Woodley area, welcomed Mr Patel’s interest.

Mrs Baverstock also praised people who had handed in around 60 “Bring Back Woodley Post Office” campaign coupons printed in the Romsey Advertiser last month.

“I am very grateful to the people who filled in the coupon in the Advertiser and I hope they keep coming in.

“It is evident that Romsey’s main post office in Church Street and Whitenap Post Office cannot cope because people have been queuing out of the doors.

“When I was in the queue at the Church Street post office before Christmas, I saw people turning away because the queue was so long.

“People are very concerned about the loss of Great Woodley Post Office and they want it back.”

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