NORTH CUMBRIAN VILLAGE'S POST OFFICE TO CLOSE DUE TO CHANGES

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A village post office is to close with its owners saying they simply can’t afford to continue.

The branch at Warwick Bridge, near Carlisle, will shut on Wednesday, June 19.

Pressure is being put on Post Office executives to ensure services are not lost in the village.

The current sub-postmasters, who have run the branch for 27 years, have decided to give the business up after a series of changes to operations imposed on them nationally.

Anyone needing to use an office after the closure will have to travel to Brampton, Carlisle or another village.

There are special fears for senior citizens needing to pick up their pensions.

Christine Irving, 52, runs the branch with her sister Dot Hynde, 58.

She said: “Most of the time we have loved it, it is only in the last few years that things have deteriorated.

“We are now working harder and harder for less and less pay,” she said.

Some of the changes that have taken place include a cut in the amount of commission paid for issuing tax discs, changes to the way benefits are handed out and segregating post becoming an unpaid task.

“We have always been keen but it’s getting to the point where we can’t afford to pay staff.”

Mrs Irving feels sorry for people who depend on the post office. She has written to MP Rory Stewart to ask him to put pressure on the Post Office to make sure there is no loss of service in the village after the branch closes.

The Post Office is looking for an alternative site, for a smaller, limited branch.

A spokeswoman said: “Following the resignation of the subpostmaster and the withdrawal of the premises for our use, Warwick Bridge Post Office will be closing temporarily on June 19, 2013.

“We are committed to providing a Post Office service to customers in the area and we are investigating the options available that will enable us to do this – we may take the opportunity to invest in a new style branch known as a Post Office local. Post Office locals run alongside an established local shop and create a more modern and convenient retail experience for customers in newly-refurbished premises.”

Councillor Doreen Parsons, who represents Warwick Bridge on Carlisle City Council, gave a limited welcome to this statement.

She said: “It is better than nothing.”

Mrs Parsons has heard talk in the village that a Post Office could go into its garage, or in a new Co-op supermarket that is set to open in the village later in the year.

However, she added that there could still be no branch in the village for a period of time.

“It is a much-used Post Office, particularly for the elderly,” she said.

Mrs Parsons pointed out that though there are branches in other villages nearby – such as Wetheral and Scotby – there is no bus service to them.

She believes most senior citizens would end up travelling to Brampton to pick up their pension.

For most of the day there are two buses between the areas every hour.