Heathfield MP, Huw Merriman, chaired a packed public meeting on the future plans for Heathfield Post Office at Heathfield Community Centre on Monday 10 August.
Over 200 residents attended the meeting which was organised by Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council to allow local people to express their concerns about the loss of their local Post Office and to provide them with information about plans to reinstate the vital services.
Huw asked Laura Tarling, Public Affairs Manager and Peter Wilkinson, Area Manager for Post Office Ltd, to explain what action is being taken to re-instate services to the town following the unexpected closure of the main Post Office on 1 April.
Ms Tarling told the meeting that it had not been possible to re-open the Post Office at the existing premises but a temporary Post Office located in a portacabin on the Mill Road car park would hopefully be opened in early September, dependent on a BT connection, until a permanent solution had been found.
The temporary office would offer all services and disability access requirements would be accommodated. It would be open Monday to Saturday 9.00 to 5.30. Ms Tarling said that they were in contact with someone interested in becoming postmaster in permanent premises in the longer term.
East Sussex County Councillor Rupert Simmons said that new permanent premises needed to be found and the Chamber of Trade were helping with the search. He questioned whether the Post Office had actively pursued the possibility of re-opening the existing premises and felt that there had been a lack of information and communication from Post Office Ltd.
Cllr Simmons and Cllr Andy Woolley, Vice-Chairman of Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council, thanked Age Concern for their help in transporting elderly customers to an alternative Post Office in Broad Oak and Wealden District Council for their swift response in helping Post Office Ltd find a temporary solution.
A number of people complained about the length of time it had taken the Post Office to provide new facilities and the difficulties they had faced.
Speaking after the meeting Huw said “I’m grateful to Post Office Ltd for coming along to the public meeting tonight to hear first-hand from its customers just how important Post Office services are to the residents of Heathfield. This has been a frustrating and disappointing situation that has impacted on the lives of our most vulnerable residents in the Heathfield community.
“I was pleased to hear that the Post Office has learnt from this experience and I certainly hope that if a similar situation arises elsewhere, that they will be able to begin contingency planning much more proactively and quickly. The lack of communication from the Post Office has been one of the biggest criticisms from local residents.
“I hope that we can all now focus on getting the temporary service up and running as quickly as possible and I will continue to work closely with the councillors for Heathfield and the Post Office to ensure that a permanent site is found as soon as possible. As I told the residents at the close of the meeting, if we keep banging our heads against the wall then it will come down as a result."