Call for a post office outreach centre

VILLAGERS who have been without any post office service for more than six months are calling for a new outreach centre to be set up.

The post offices in Wangford and Wrentham were closed early in 2008 as part of a programme to shut 2,500 branches nationwide.

A part time outreach service was put in place to serve the rural communities, but in June the outreach closed when the sub-postmaster resigned and no replacement staff were found.

Now after more than six months with no post office, villagers in Wangford are concerned that they will be without a service well into the New Year.

Kathryn Savage, clerk at Wangford Parish Council, said: 'Nothing has been done since June, so we've started to make complaints again.

'We have to go more than three miles to Southwold for the nearest alternative post office, and that is awkward as it is difficult to park nearby. The other alternative is Halesworth, which is no closer. The post office in Reydon, which would be closer to us, was also closed.'

She said: 'When the outreach closed, we hoped that someone would be found to staff it quickly because it has been very inconvenient, particularly for many of the older residents who need a post office in the village. We know there are problems with staffing, but we only want something which can operate for a couple of hours a week in the village.'

A Post Office spokesman said that workers for an outreach service have to be found from a nearby sub post office, but that at the moment, there are no extra staff available.

He said: 'We have still not been able to find a replacement for the provision of outreach postal services in Wangford and continue to try to do so.

'We are determined to maintain postal services in the area and apologise to our customers for any inconvenience they have been caused.'