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Worries at 'severe impact' of Post Office closure

Ellen Knightin Wellington, Shropshire
News imageELLEN KNIGHT/BBC Photo of Caroline, who's looking into the camera and smiling slightly. She's wearing a dark green woollen jumper, and has shoulder-length blodne hair and dark-framed glasses. She's stood in front of a row of containers, which have lentils, seeds, and nuts in - and have openings at the bottom allowing people to refill their own containers. Above the shelving are signs, in white writing on a black background, that read 'Lentils, Snacks, Seeds'ELLEN KNIGHT/BBC
Caroline Talbot said Wellington's community "relies" on a Post Office

The closure of a town's Post Office branch will "severely impact" businesses, locals said.

Their views come after the temporary operator of the Market Street branch in Wellington, Shropshire, resigned - with the company advertising for a replacement to start as soon as possible.

Wellington Town Council is hoping the service can move into the former Halifax building on Duke Street, which they bought earlier this year using a public sector loan.

Caroline Talbot, who works at eco-friendly refill shop The Little Green Pantry, said that "a community like Wellington relies on a post office".

Talbot said she felt businesses who took cash would be particularly affected.

"We rely on swapping change with other local businesses," she explained, adding that "because we're a refill shop, we have lots of pennies we need to give out".

Despite there being other Post Office branches in nearby Telford, Talbot said the situation would create "another job we've got to do."

"It might not seem like a big task, but it's another thing that takes time, money, and staffing just to get the right change for our customers," she added.

"We would love to see a Post Office back," she said, adding that "it's going to be really missed".

News imageELLEN KNIGHT/BBC Alan photographed looking into the camera and smiling slightly. He's wearing a black shirt, and has a red knitted scarf on. He's wearing black-framed glasses that have yellow-tinted lenses. He has short grey hair and a beard. He's stood in front of a dark green wall, which has two rows of guitars - in colours ranging from bright orange to light green - hanging up behind him. ELLEN KNIGHT/BBC
Alan Tyler said the music shop would be particularly affected due to having lots of online customers

Alan Tyler, who works at The Music Vault, said his specialist music shop in the town would be "severely impacted" by the closure.

"We tend to post out a lot of stuff due to our online orders," Tyler explained.

He added that the shop used the Post Office "at least two to three times a week, if not more".

Tyler said the situation was "frustrating" because staff were previously able to "walk around the corner" to send off parcels.

"It slows things down," he said, adding that "we'll have a backlog of stuff in the shop that we can't post out."

News imageELLEN KNIGHT/BBC Jon photographed looking into the camera and smiling. He's wearing a long sleeve black top with a brown t-shirt over the top, on which is written 'Insomniac' in white writing. Over that, he's wearing a navy blue apron, which has 'Boardroom' written on it. He's got a bright blue baseball cap on, which has 'NY' embroidered on it in silver letters. He's stood in front of floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves, which have brightly coloured board game boxes stacked on them. ELLEN KNIGHT/BBC
Jon Drew said his business would just have to "crack on" without the Post Office

Jon Drew co-owns the Boardroom Gaming Cafe in the town and said he "relies on the Post Office to put our cash takings into our bank account".

"It was extremely convenient and now that convenience is gone," he added.

While the Post Office scouts for a replacement operator, Drew said he would be "going up to [Telford] town centre" to find another branch.

"That does mean I have to be out of the business, which means I have to get more staff in," he said.

But while the situation was "frustrating" for Drew, he added that "we just have to move forward with it and just crack on".

News imageELLEN KNIGHT/BBC Photo of the exterior of the Post Office. It's in a large red brick building, and has two red post boxes outside the front doors. A red and white sign hangs over the entrance, reading 'Post Office.' Much of the entrance is slightly obscured by scaffolding, which is metal and has yellow material wrapped around it. The pavement is wet, suggesting recent rain, and the sky is grey and overcast.ELLEN KNIGHT/BBC
The Market Street branch was close to the centre of Wellington

A statement by the Post Office at the end of January confirmed the closure of the Wellington branch at 17:30 GMT on Monday due to the resignation.

Their spokesperson said, in the interim, alternative branches were Brooklands, 0.73 miles away, Arleston, just over a mile away, and Admaston and Leegomery, both less than two miles away.

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