Residents appeal for Ferndown post office to reopen

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/d ... _weeks_on/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'OPEN our post office now'. This is the message from residents in Ferndown.

The town's post office has now been closed for more than four weeks.

Councillors and Ferndown residents say their frustrations have been heightened by limited communication from the Post Office.

Earlier this week, the Post Office confirmed it is actively looking to resolve the situation at the Ferndown branch.

Residents say a temporary postmaster should be put in place to get the store open right away.

The lease holder for the building, Val Athwal, has made a number of offers to the Post Office to open the branch on a temporary basis.

District councillor Julie Robinson said: "The issue with the leases should be put to one side and dealt with quietly. The CEO of the Post Office should bring in someone on the interim and keep the place open for the public and local businesses.

"We're the third biggest town in Dorset other than Bournemouth and Poole, and we haven't got a post office or a pay point. People can't get their pensions, pay their rents or get gas and electric. It's appalling."

Edna Stafford, a Ferndown resident who uses the post office on a weekly basis, said: "I'm having to go to West Moors at the moment. It takes two buses to get there and other than the extra cost, it takes a whole morning to do the round trip."

Stuart Fleetham, a local business owner and member of the Ferndown chamber of commerce, said: "Being a local business owner, it's a case of using the post office for banking and sending out the print work we produce. If you can't come to the local branch you have to take time out of your day to drive off somewhere else and you're then out of the town and away from your business.

"This one problem is effecting the whole town. We have a had a large number of people come to the chamber asking for information about it opening and we're actively trying to make contact with the Post Office, but nobody will give a solid answer on when it will open."

Ferndown Town councillor Terry Cordery said: "I think it is appalling. It has taken more than four weeks to solve a problem which is not tremendously difficult.

"There is no communication with the town council from the Post Office. I would happily go to the Post Office and have a meeting with a senior executive to solve the problems and get Ferndown's post office open again

[NWpostie]

If it's a Sub Office, then I'm not surprised no one has come forward, I'm sure any sensible prospective Postmasters will have done some research on the business case of running a Sub Office would no doubt come across the horizon debacle and the ongoing court case.

This includes a recent documentary about Sub Office closure program.

Many will no doubt be thinking twice about taking it on.

[Snaggletooth]

I didn't know about this documentary, what channel or platform was it on?

You make some good points about issues in the subs, but the biggest problem is probably that the piecework rates for sales have been cut recently. Again.

[NWpostie]

This http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06491yg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Signed, sealed and delivered. BBC2 but no longer available on iPlayer.

Its about shaking up the Post office network and closure programs. it shows both sides of the closure, mind you must consider it slightly biased, there are winners and losers in the closure program, I think the Horizon problem did pop up, but wasn't dwelt on.

I remember talking to a Postmistress, she said she used to make good money then as you said, the piece rate has fallen, she wasn't making any money for a small shop, inevitably she took severance and left the business, she was happy to leave as the stress of the business was getting to her.

[Snaggletooth]

I watched that, it was first shown about 2 years ago!