Villagers left without post office services
THE people of West Buckland turned out in force on Christmas Eve to watch Jane Comer, postmistress for 20 years, close down the village Post Office and General Store for the final time. Villagers were told that the post office would be replaced by a mobi
THE people of West Buckland turned out in force on Christmas Eve to watch Jane Comer, postmistress for 20 years, close down the village Post Office and General Store for the final time. Villagers were told that the post office would be replaced by a mobi
THE people of West Buckland turned out in force on Christmas Eve to watch Jane Comer, postmistress for 20 years, close down the village Post Office and General Store for the final time.Villagers were told that the post office would be replaced by a mobile service - but they are still waiting to hear when this will start."In April last year a general manager came down and told me our post office was scheduled for closure around August," said Jane, "but he promised the village would have a mobile post office for two mornings a week."After almost 20 years Jane decided she would have to close the general store at the same time:"Without the postal business we could hardly make ends meet," she said."And Post Office management have been threatening closure for so many years that I have had enough."It is understood three closure dates had been scheduled by Post Office Ltd and then cancelled, before Jane finally closed her doors on Christmas Eve.Angry villagers say they have been left with nothing but promises from the powers-that-be, in a community with just one bus per week to South Molton, no Post Office services and none of the essential items that for years had been stocked by the general store."For many elderly people in the village the closure is the worst blow of all and the Post Office seem to be doing nothing about it at all," added Michelle Boyd, chairman of West Buckland Parish Council.A spokesman for Royal Mail Group Ltd said they were trying to set up a temporary service in the village:"We would like to apologise to our customers in West Buckland for the delay to the mobile post office service," he said. "We are urgently trying to implement contingency arrangements to provide Post Office services to the village until the mobile service is in place.