Worth Valley Post Office staff are struggling to cope

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Post Office staff in the Worth Valley are struggling to cope following the closure of branches at Oxenhope and Haworth Brow.

Staff at the remaining three branches in Oakworth Co-op, Haworth Main Street and Cross Roads say they have been working flat out to meet demand since the two post offices closed over the summer.

Peter Helliwell, who runs Haworth Post Office with his wife Monica, said: “This is the busiest Christmas we have ever had and I have been in the post office business for 23 years. It has been extremely hard going. All the offices have been inundated this year. It has been crazy.”

Cross Roads postmistress Angela Armstrong said she had seen a 25 per cent increase in customers since the two Worth Valley post offices closed and she had recently extended her opening hours to keep up with demand.

But it means staff are being forced to work harder and customers are facing longer queues.

She said: “Sometimes it has been getting to a point where it is unmanageable, really. We have been working until 8pm at night to clear the parcels and just to finish the work that we should be doing during normal working hours. We have had some people come in, see a queue and leave.

“The extra business is good for us but we do have to put in extra work.”

Jean-Claire Anderson, counter clerk at Oakworth Post Office, said trade had also increased and she was working extra hours to keep up with demand.

Businesses in the Worth Valley say they have suffered as a result of the drastically reduced facilities and say replacement branches are now needed.

Oxenhope Parish Councillor David Ashcroft said: “Businesses in the village relied on the post office. They don’t need to send massive volumes of mail but what they do send is critical to their activities.

“We are looking to see if we can find alternative premises for a post office, even if it is temporary accommodation that can open a few hours a week such as a pub or in the Co-Op.”

Gillian Hill, who runs Panda Promotions and Advertising in Haworth, said: “There are lots of small businesses in Haworth that need the services of a local post office."

The post offices at Oxenhope and Haworth Brow closed when the owners retired and no one else could be found to take over the businesses. The old post office in Oxenhope has now been converted into a private home by the former postmaster.

Post Office spokesman Val Bodden said it was still the intention to reopen the two closed branches.

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Peter Helliwell, who runs Haworth Post Office with his wife Monica, said: “This is the busiest Christmas we have ever had and I have been in the post office business for 23 years. It has been extremely hard going. All the offices have been inundated this year. It has been crazy.”
What Peter doesn't mention is how much money he made during such a hard going busy December and he would no doubt be the first to moan if he was going out of business through a lack of customers.

[Stormproof]

But it means staff are being forced to work harder and customers are facing longer queues.