Local MP Richard Arkless has this week written to the Post Office to express his concern over the two week closure of the Stranraer branch which will leave residents forced to travel to access vital services.
The Stranraer Post Office in Charlotte Street is set to close from from Monday 20th June for an essential refurbishment and during this period no temporary facilities will be provided. People wishing to access Post Office services will instead have to travel to rural Lochans Post Office or over 25 miles to use the branch at Newton Stewart.
Commenting on the closure, Mr Arkless said:
“The people at Post Office HQ who are making this decision clearly have never been to Stranraer. If you’re a pensioner who can’t get to Newton Stewart – you probably won’t be able to get to the Lochans either.”
Mr Arkless went on to say that while he welcomed the improvements to the branch he could not accept the level of disruption Stranraer residents would have to experience while the work takes place.
He continued:
“There are 168 communities across the UK served by Mobile Post Offices – are we to believe Stranraer doesn’t merit at least one of those for a couple of weeks?
“Pensioners, small businesses and many other people in the town depend upon the vital services that the Post Office provides. They cannot accept two weeks without the services that they need to live and operate and I will therefore continue to push the Post Office to postpone this closure until temporary service facilities can be provided.”
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