Post Office 'regrets to inform' customers of Shropshire village outreach closures
Outreach Post Office services in villages Shropshire are being closed down as soon as this month.
The Post Office says changes are being made to the outreach services provided by the branch in Pontesbury because of 'low usage'.
Changes are being made to seven limited hours outreach services in Shawbury, Hope, Marton, Minsterley, Longden, Stiperstone and Wentnor.
Carol Williams, the network provision lead at the Post Office has sent out letters and posters to elected representatives in the areas affected to let them know.
County councillor Ruth Houghton, the Liberal Democrat representative Bishop’s Castle, has already let her constituents know in her regular email newsletter.
The letter reads: "We have made some changes to the above Outreach Post Office services.
"Following a review of customer usage, we have made changes to the opening hours of the Outreach Post Office Services at Shawbury and Hope.
"This change will take effect from Friday, May 31, 2024 for Shawbury and Wednesday June 5, 2024 for Hope."
They add that there is no change to Minsterley Outreach Service, operating from Station Road, Minsterley, Shrewsbury.
The letter adds that the Post Office "regrets to inform you that" the Outreach Post Services at Marton, Longden, Stiperstones and Wentnor, which is currently provided by the Postmaster at Pontesbury Post Office, will cease due to very low customer usage.
It adds that posters will now be displayed locally so customers are aware of the change.
"We would like to apologise for the closure and for any inconvenience this may cause," it adds.
"We will continue to monitor the number of customers using Post Office services, and should customer usage increase significantly, consideration would be given to adjusting service times accordingly.
"We would like to apologise for the inconvenience the closures may cause. We hope that our customers will continue to use Post Office services.
"There are times our branches may need to make changes to opening hours."
The full details of the changes are made in the letter:
Outreach Post Office Service - New opening hours
Shawbury Outreach Post Office Service - Shawbury Village Hall, Church Street, Shawbury, Shrewsbury, SY4 4NH. New opening times: Friday 9.30am – 11.30am
Hope Outreach Post Office Service - Hope Village Hall, Hope, Near Minsterley, Shrewsbury, SY5 0JB. New opening times: Wednesday 12pm – 1.30pm
The details of when the outreach services will be closing are set out:
Marton Outreach Service, Marton Village Hall, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8JT
Closure Date: Monday, May 20, 2024.
Longden Outreach Service, Tankerville Arms, Longden. Shrewsbury, SY5 8EX.
Closure Date: Thursday, May 23, 2024
Stiperstones Outreach Service, Snailbeach, Shrewsbury. SY5 0LZ.
Closure Date: Monday, May 27, 2024
Wentnor Outreach Service. The Shop, 15 Rock Close, Wentnor, Bishops Castle, SY9 5EP.
Closure Date: Monday, May 27, 2024
