Fury after Holmfirth left without Post Office for three week

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Fury after Holmfirth left without Post Office for three weeks

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Councillor inundated with complaints from people who were left without the service due to a refurbishment and a staffing crisis

Holmfirth people have been angered by a post office’s three-week closure.

Holme Valley councillor Greg Christofi says he has been fielding numerous complaints from people in the town who were left without the service due to a major refurbishment and a staffing crisis.

The office finally opened three days later than it was scheduled to after officials were unable to arrange for a new postmaster to take over the office after postmistress Pat Harper decided to step down.

Fortunately Pat has now agreed to stay on in a temporary post until a permanent replacement can be found.

Scholes resident Clr Christofi, who owns the Old Bridge Bakery, said: “I had people asking how they would manage without it.

“The branch is the biggest in the Holme Valley and people were having to travel to Scholes or Netherthong Post Offices if they wanted to use the service.

“But this was no good for people with disabilities or who were unable to make that journey.

Poster displayed at the collection desk at the post office
“The problem with the Post Office is that there was little we could do to get them to open it sooner.

“I just don’t think how they handled the situation was good enough.

“The service shouldn’t be part of a private company– it should go back to days when it was public because it was easier to hold it to account.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We would like to apologise to the residents of Holmfirth for the inconvenience caused by the recent closure of the Post Office.

“We are extremely grateful to postmistress Pat Harper for agreeing to stay on and reopen the branch in order to provide access to Post Office services to the community. Pat will continue as postmistress until the new agent is able to take over.”