Barry Stamps Political Diary

I was really pleased to hear that despite all the political hype that followed the announcement that Derrington Post Office was to close after the current post master decided to retire, that a new part-time office is to open in the Village. In an earlier entry in this blog I’ve already criticized Derrington’s Tory Councillors for saying it was a disgrace the Post Office was to close their office in the Village and I pointed out that the Post Office were doing everything possible to find not only alternative premises but also someone to run the new facility (see my blog entry for Thursday 8th May)

Well now I can report that the Post Master from Haughton has agreed to take over the Derrington office and that this will be located in the Village Hall. The new post office will be open three mornings a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

However there does appear to be a delay in moving to the Village Hall, as British Telecom are not able to install the new ISDN line which is needed to connect the portable post office computer to the national network, for a few weeks. This will mean that despite everyone’s best intention the Village will be without a Post Office for that time!

The worry is that some people will find an alternative post office to use and then will not return to the new one in Derrington when it finally opens. It’s unbelievable that BT cannot provide a quicker service when this much needed Village service is under threat. Using the new Post Office in Derrington is important if it is to remain open in any future service reviews. If you do have to use a different Post Office while the new one is being set-up please remember to return when it does finally open.

Also, as I'm a member of the Borough Council's new Post Office Closure Working Group, I will be urging the Council to look at the way a service has been provided to Derrington and to perhaps use this model to see if similar facilities cannot be opened in other communities threaten by post office closures.