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South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has welcomed the confirmation that a temporary, hosted Post Office service is to be provided for Georgetown from 27 August.
However, the local politician has vowed to continue to fight for a more permanent solution.
Georgetown is one of four local branches which look set to close after CJ Lang confirmed those post offices will no longer operate out of their SPAR stores from August and September.
The current post office in Georgetown Spar shop closed on 19 August and a temporary hosted post office service will operate from Georgetown Library on Fridays between 10 am and 1 pm from 27 August.
Colin Smyth said: “I am pleased we now have confirmation of the arrangements for a temporary, hosted post office in the library to provide services in Georgetown, albeit for far fewer hours that we would have liked. Having discussed the need for the service with Post Office limited I’m grateful they have responded with this proposal, but I will continue to fight for a long term solution.
“For the past couple of months, I have been working with local councillors, several local businesses and groups to find solutions to the Post Office closures in their areas. There have been several very positive responses, including some in Georgetown and these leads are being followed up by the Post Office. But I still hope other businesses or organisations will consider coming forward in the Georgetown area with proposals for a permanent solution.
“There is still a lot of anger over the decision by CJ Lang to pull the plug on these services in some of the Spar shops they own, especially given that these are all profitable, viable Post Office counters. However, CJ Lang isn’t prepared to discuss changing their position, so we now need to find alternatives.
“A lot of work still needs to be done and we need the help of local businesses and the community to ensure we don’t lose these services.
“Having a Post Office in the community is vital for so many of my constituents, particularly those who are older or people who can’t travel easily.”
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