It has been bought to the parish council’s attention, by residents, that there are plans to close the Post Office at its current location and move it into a grocery shop in the High Street with limited services and facilities.
Villagers are organising a petition regarding the closure from its current site and planned reduced service, but I would like to seek clarification from you regarding the matter. I am however, concerned that there has been no communication from Post Office Ltd., to the parish council regarding any such plans.
The post office at its current venue is ideally located and has room for mobility scooters and pushchairs to be parked outside. The proposed grocery shop does not have this facility nor is it Equality Act compliant. The post office is a public service and the parish council’s concern is that all current services remain in full and are accessible to all.
In October 2015 both Nat West Bank and Barclays Bank closed their branches in our area and customers were advised to use Dymchurch Post Office for their banking services. Recently, the post office at St. Mary’s Bay closed and residents from that village now use the Dymchurch Post Office because the services provided by the in-shop local branch are inadequate.
The parish council would welcome a meeting with a representative from Post Office Ltd., to discuss your plans and indeed our concerns that a full Post Office Service and suitable premises are kept at Dymchurch.