Anger grows over closure

Jan 28 2010 Kevin Edge

Hednesford councillors have slammed the decision to leave people without a post office for nearly a week, following contentious plans to move the facility.

The Post Office moves from its existing location in the village’s Nisa shop on February 1, taking up residence in the Co-op on February 4.

Town stalwarts say the gap will leave residents without vital services, causing ‘nuisance and concern’.

The hold-up in services is a bitter pill for campaigners to swallow. They had fought a widespread campaign to allow the post office to stay in its original location. Over 8,000 residents had signed a petition backing them.

“Any gap in normal service like this causes real nuisance and concern to local residents and businesses, particularly the elderly,” Chairman of Hednesford Town Council, Cllr Alan Pearson said.

“The Town Council was very disappointed that our views were not listened to during the consultation and I just hope that the relocation won’t cause the problems that we feared.

“Of course we want to keep a post office here in Hednesford for a very long time to come, but we also want the town centre as a whole to thrive. I hope that local residents will continue to support their local businesses and that we will see a prosperous and flourishing town centre in the near future.”

Sue Woodward, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Labour, agreed. She said: “It’s about time that the Post Office management listened to those who pay their wages – their customers and the tax-payers.”