Closure of Post Office would be 'devastating' - Ballymoney

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THE Mayor of Ballymoney Bill Kennedy has said it is vital rural Post Offices are safeguarded from "devastating" closures.

Mr Kennedy was speaking after the counter blinds were pulled down at Ballyboyland Post Office following the departure of the subpostmaster.

He said such facilities in isolated areas were vital to the local community, particularly elderly and vulnerable residents who rely on the Post Office to collect pensions, benefits and for banking purposes.

Mr Kennedy told the Times: "It's another country, rural post office under threat.

"There are people in rural areas who use it and have done for a lifetime.

"It is sad to see the likes of that going.

"We don't want to see another establishment going in the Ballymoney area, it would be devastating.

"In recent times the number of jobs being cut seems to be endless.

"I'm really sad to see the likes of this happening."

Mr Kennedy called on the Post Office to recognise the importance of their rural premises and said Ballymoney council would do whatever it could to fight potential closures.

"Over the years Ballymoney Borough Council has been pro-active to try and protect rural Post Offices," he said.

"It seems people who draw up these strategies tend to work in England and know very little about what rural areas in Northern Ireland are about.

"The people affected by the closures are those who perhaps don't have transport into Ballymoney.

"They maybe can't access banking facilities any other way and are used to dealing with their local Post Office. It's an important service in a rural community.

"It's also were people are used to going, people trust the staff and have confidence in them.

"There's maybe a feeling too that in a rural post office the staff will go that extra mile maybe than those in a larger Post Office.
"As a council we will be fighting for the continuation of rural Post Offices."

A spokesperson for the Post Office said the Ballyboyland branch closure was "temporary" adding they welcome applications from anyone interesting in taking up the service in the area.

"Post Office Ltd would like to apologise to customers for the temporary closure of Ballyboyland Post Office following the resignation of the subpostmaster," said the spokesperson.

"Unfortunately, the branch closed without notice on 22 July 2010.

"We very much regret the inconvenience that this temporary closure will undoubtedly cause and are keen to reassure customers that we will be working hard to restore provision in the area as soon as possible.

"Customers are free to use the service most convenient for them, but the three Post Office branches closest to Ballyboyland are Ballymoney, Stranocum and Dervock. We would like to remind Post Office card account customers that they can collect pensions and benefits at any of our branches.

"Post Office Ltd is committed to maintaining a presence in the local community and is keen to hear from potential retail partners interested in running Ballyboyland Post Office branch on our behalf. Anyone seeking further information is asked to contact our Agency Recruitment Team on telephone: 0845 601 6260."

The closure of Balnamore Post Office more than two years ago also dealt a large blow to the local community.

But the Post Office spokesperson said they were also eager to recruit at Balnamore.

A spokesperson for Post Office Ltd said: "Regrettably, Balnamore Post Office branch remains closed in spite of Post Office Ltd's strenuous efforts to appoint a new agent. We would ask that anyone interested in running the branch contact our Agency Recruitment Team on telephone number: 0845 601 6260."