Published: Thursday, 8th May, 2008 8:45am

Closure threat puts post offices in limbo

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CONCERNED: Townhill post-mistress Naveed Akhtar

A WEST FIFE postmistress who will be told next week if her post office is to close has spoken of her frustration at an anxious four-month wait for the news.

Naveed Akhtar (28) has been postmistress at Townhill Post Office for four years. It’s one of 25 West Fife post offices under review by Post Office Ltd which could be closed.

She has been left in limbo since January when she received a letter from Post Office Ltd to say that the two-counter post office was one of the 25 facing possible closure.

She said, “It’s been a long wait. I just want to know what’s happening – I really hope we stay open.”

She continued, “I do well, I’m busy enough here. I love working in the post office with the customers. If the post office closed the old people would have to trail all the way down to the main office on Queen Anne Street.”

Miss Akhtar hopes to expand the range of products on offer to customers if the post office stays open and said she would look into providing road tax and passport checking, as well as home and car insurance.

All the post offices under review by Post Office Ltd will be visited by an advisor who will make evaluations before a decision is made.

Miss Akhtar – who took over Townhill General Store from her brother – will receive her visit on Wednesday.

A full list of all the post offices proposed for closure in West Fife will be published on 28th May.

Dunfermline and West Fife MP Willie Rennie said, “Some of the large post offices that are quite a distance away from other ones are likely to be safe. It’s the ones that are smaller and close to other post offices that may be under threat.

“Places like Carnock – I think the shop and the post office there are required to support each other in order to survive and if one does go I think so would the other. It’s the same with Blairhall. I see a problem if they are separated. If the post office goes it might make the whole enterprise not viable.

“Townhill Post Office is one of the ones on the edge of being on the list to be closed. It’s difficult to tell how it would affect the shop (Townhill General Store).”

Mr Rennie criticised the lengthy wait that postmasters and postmistresses across the Kingdom have had to endure for a decision.

He said, “Everybody must be on tenterhooks about the future. It’s unacceptable that people have had to wait for so long to find out the answer but it’s important that we now have a proper consultation process so that people can have their say.”

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said Post Office Ltd analysed a number of factors such as the proximity of the post office branches proposed for closure to other nearby branches; the number of customers using a particular post office and the size and ability of nearby branches to absorb extra customers.

It also took into account “obstacles” such as rivers, mountains, valleys, motorways and sea crossings to islands in order to avoid “undue hardship to customers”, and also the availability of public transport and alternative access to key post office services.

She added that the announcement of the proposed closures on 28th May will be followed by a six-week consultation process before a final decision is made on closure at some point during the summer.

lcummings@dunfermlinepress.co.uk