Insurance broker saves Lanivet's post office

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AN INSURANCE broker has saved the last post from sounding in Lanivet.

Peter Old, who runs Mid-Cornwall Brokers, has stepped in to offer his Clarence House premises as the new village post office – and it should be transferred there sometime in April.

The present sub-postmaster has been hoping to retire for some time.

There was a proposal in 2012 to move the post office to the nearby Spar shop, but that fell through.

There was doubt whether the services could be retained in Lanivet, until Mr Old offered his premises to Post Office Ltd.

The post office is expected to move to Clarence House next month, once planning consents have been agreed.

Post Office Ltd undertook local consultations on the move, with the deadline for feedback February 18.

Mr Old said: "I'm delighted to be able to offer my premises as a post office.

"The village deserves to have its own post office; there are a sufficient number of people to make it viable.

"But I do hope people in the village will take advantage of the facility because, like all small post offices, it will be a case of use it or lose it."

Mr Old has signed a lease with Post Office Ltd and already has trained staff lined up to run it.

The Post Office is proposing to create a modern open-plan local-style branch, open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to noon.

The proposed move is part of a major modernisation programme across the Post Office network designed to make it easier for customers to do business, through longer opening hours and modern open-plan environments.

Post Office's regional network manager for England South Will Russell said: "We understand how important Post Office services are to residents in Lanivet and we are confident this new, modern branch will meet the needs of the local community and secure services for the future."

He added: "The proposed changes to the branch are part of a major investment programme to convert the Post Office network to new-style branches and this investment, the largest in the history of the Post Office, marks a commitment to no more branch-closure programmes."

Post Office Local is a new concept for delivering Post Office services from an open-plan counter with Post Office products and services available alongside retail transactions during shop opening hours, allowing Post Office services to be available for longer offering greater convenience to customers.