PO could be 'disaster waiting to happen'
SAFETY concerns over the proposed location of a Sutherland post office emerged this week following Post Office Ltd’s decision to downgrade and move the current service.
A Brora resident who has been battling against the state-owned company’s transformation scheme told the Northern Times that closing the village’s dedicated post office, and incorporating the facilities into the nearby Premier Express convenience store, would be an “accident waiting to happen”.
Pending the outcome of a six-week public consultation which took place across September and October, the family-owned shop on Harbour Road looks set to take over from the current post office on Rosslyn Street early next year.
The Premier Express would offer postal services 364 days a year, Monday to Saturday from 6am-10pm, and on Sundays from 8am-9pm.
But Margaret Jaffrey (73) of Victoria Road said: “I’m still reasonably fit at the moment, but there are a lot of pedestrians in Brora who aren’t and they will now have to come down a flight of steps from one part of the village to get to the Premier Express — or go along Harbour Road, but the return trip goes up to Manse Park and there’s a much steeper flight there.
“There’s a lot of folk tottering into the current post office and I can see them having problems if they want to continue to pick up their pension or if they want to post a letter or send a parcel.
“It is very good of the owners of Premier Express to have offered use of their premises, but for elderly customers on foot or for vehicles users, the position of the store is not ideal.
“People tend to park as near to the door as possible which presents problems for other drivers when trying to get back onto the A9 from Harbour Road. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Aaron Gullick, who owns the Premier Express with his wife Mel, said: “First of all I would like to say that we are delighted at the Bridgend store to be able to preserve post office services in Brora for the community.
“We are currently looking into having a central rail put down the steps for people approaching from south of the village down the A9, as well as having a disabled space marked out in the car park which is at the rear of the shop.
“I fully understand that the location will not be as convenient for some residents as it currently is, but for people approaching from the north there are no steps and being that we are central to the village, we are closer to them than the current location.
“We will be doing all we can at the store to help people deal with the change.”
Mr Gullick revealed that his was the only firm to put in a bid for the post office services.
Mary Stewart, who runs the current Brora Post Office with her husband Andy, backed the new operators.
She said: “The way things stand, we needed someone to take it over, so we’ll be supporting Premier and helping them with the move.
“The consultation is finished but they’ve not completed everything. There’s nothing confirmed at the moment, it may still not end up happening but chances are it will and it will probably be around February.”
The Stewarts put their business on the market after Post Office Ltd made the decision to demote it to a PO Local.
The change meant a cut in payments for operators and a reduction of services on offer, meaning it was no longer financially viable for the couple to run the service.
Mrs Stewart said: “We couldn’t survive off a PO Local. Because we own the property, if we can’t sell it, we’ll need to look at doing something else to try and pay for it. We might try renting it as a commercial space or we might set something else up ourselves, we’re not sure yet.”
A Post Office Ltd spokesperson said: “The Post Office is investing in new models of post office branches which will help improve their profitability and also benefit our customers through longer opening hours and modern retail environments.
“The public consultation on the relocation of Brora Post Office ended on October 20, and we are considering all feedback received.”
