Issued: 30 Jan 2008
Two public meetings are to be held on the evening of Tuesday 5 February to allow the communities of Maryburgh and Dingwall West End to highlight their case for retaining their local post offices. In attendance to hear their pleas and answer questions will be representatives of Post Office Ltd, who have agreed to attend along with Postwatch Scotland.
The first meeting is being held in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Dingwall at 6pm. The second, for the Maryburgh community, will be held in the Amenities Hall at 8pm.
The two meetings are being supported by the four Highland Councillors of the Dingwall and Seaforth Ward and Dingwall Community Council.
Dingwall Community Council Chair Nigel Greenwood said: "Dingwall Community Council has contacted the postmaster at the West End Post Office, and offered our full support to the retention of the services here. The Post Office is situated in a residential area where there is a high proportion of elderly residents who use the facility on a regular basis. Many of them do not own their own transport, and public transport links to the rest of Dingwall do not provide an adequate service that can meet their needs. The Post Office is also located within a general store, and the viability of this and other adjacent shops would be seriously adversely affected by any proposal to close the post office facility."
Highland Councillor David Chisholm highlighted the importance of the community attending the meetings. He said: "I would encourage both communities to attend the meetings and put forward their point of view. It's a good opportunity for people to tell Post Office Ltd how the closures will impact upon them. If POL are going to change their plans, they're going to need to know the extent to which the closures are going to affect people locally."
Anyone is welcome to attend the public meeting but can also respond directly to the Post Office's consultation paper by either writing or emailing:
Sally Buchanan
Network Development Manager
c/o National Consultation Team
Freepost Consultation Team
Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk
The Highland Council has also set up a discussion forum on the Council's website and will forward any comments posted on this to Post Office Ltd at the end of the consultation phase. The fourm can be found at: http://thc.highlandlife.net/post_office_consultation