Coundon community PO closes three years after opening

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Coundon community post office closes three years after opening

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10229395._/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A COMMUNITY post office has been forced to close due to a lack of funds just three years after it was opened by villagers.

Coundon and Lehholme Community Partnership opened the post office in their centre on Tees Walk, Coundon in November, 2009, after the village’s previous service closed.

But on Monday the post office closed as the partnership could no longer afford to keep it going.

Chairman Neil Stonehouse said he was disappointed with the decision but the partnership had no choice.

In December the community group was forced to sell assets to make itself solvent again with Mr Stonehouse blaming Government cuts in grants and funding opportunities for community groups.

He said: “We are a victim of David Cameron’s big society, there are far fewer funds available with many now going to bigger organisations leaving the smaller community groups with nothing.

“We have been struggling to keep ourselves afloat and simply could not afford to keep subsidising the service.

“The way we look at is as sad as we are to lose the post office, the village has had the service for three and a half years longer than we would have done without our support.”

The partnership contributed between £2,000 and £3,000 a year to the service.

Mr Stonehouse said: “We did not get involved to make a profit but we have to prioritise.

“We spoke to the Post Office and they were not prepared to carry on with the service without our involvement.

“The partnership is being forced to go back to basics, our first priority was always to help people in Coundon find work and I am pleased to say that we have had some successes even during these difficult times.

“There is no guarantee that we as a partnership will survive but we have to do what we can to keep going, and that includes making this very sad decision.”

The office, which was open for 19 hours over three days a week, employed two people and was initially supported with a £25,000 grant from the now-defunct Wear Valley District Council.

A spokeswoman for Post Office confirmed the closure and apologised for any inconvenience caused to residents.

[subbie]

What a shame, I thought the Social Network Payment the Gov gives POL to the tune of £210m pa was supposed to support PO's like this?

Subbie

[capitalbiker]

but as you well know Subbie the money disappears into the black hole of POL finances with no accountability to HM Gov to support small rural ( and even some urban ) post offices, until there is some ring fencing of the SNP for this purpose the UK will see more closures like this but on the bright side a long lost service somewhere else will have a rebirth as a local or even a main and we'll be back to a network with no closures..

isnt it so nice to view the world through the rosy tint of POls vision!