A dramatic reduction in opening hours at Cove Post Office will go ahead, despite public concerns.
Managers say being open just six hours a week will ‘adequately cope with customer demand’ when the service moves 100 yards to Cove Village Store on April 20.
The move follows long-serving postmistress Margaret Shutt’s decision to retire, with a public consultation closing on March 20.
Cove and Kilcreggan community councillors said that cutting the service to two mornings a week would not be enough for residents, and that it should also be open one afternoon per week.
But the original proposals remain unchanged – the new opening hours will be 9am to 12 noon on Mondays and Thursdays.
Field change advisor Douglas Heed said feedback had centred on the reduction in opening hours, but customers’ concerns had been taken into account.
“I can confirm that the proposed hours will adequately cope with customer demand,” he said.
“However, we will continue to review and monitor service on an ongoing basis and should customer usage increase significantly opening times would be adjusted accordingly.
“We do understand that for some customers the new opening times may be less convenient, however, we do consider that this change is the best way forward to secure the future of Post Office services in this area.“
The current branch will close its doors for the last time on Friday April 17.
This is a bit like SPT with the ferry. On paper, if you add up all the usage then yes probably fewer hours (or sailings) are enough to cope with demand but really what it boils down to is that privatised industries (now including Royal Mail) are no longer customer focussed unless there are big profit margins (simply breaking even or modest profit no longer good enough). Really doesn’t bode well for rural communities in the future to be anything other than recreation areas or retirement homes.