Post office goes after '104 years'

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http://www.farnhamherald.com/images/news/2016/HD21-126-16.JPGSTAFF who served behind the counter at Lion Lane Post Office said goodbye to customers as the shutters were pulled down for the last time on Wednesday afternoon last week.

The staff – manager Stephen Moss, Ann Pitman, Linda Sanders and Louise Corking – remained at the post office counter after the Co-op moved out of the premises last July, and continued serving customers there after the new Marks and Spencer opened on March 31.
They officially worked for the Co-op, not the Post Office, and their jobs ended when the Co-op franchise contract came to an end last week.

Linda Sanders, who has served behind the PO counter for five-and-a-half years, said: “There were many who came to wish us well and to say goodbye, including people who have worked for the post office in the past and past colleagues from the Co-op, and customers as well. A big thank-you goes to all our friends and customers for all your loyal and continued support throughout our last months of being here.

“We are sad to leave.”

Linda, 68, will now be retiring, as will Ann Pitman, from Headley, who worked at the Lion Lane branch for 12 years, and for the Post Office organisation for more than 28 years altogether.

The other staff, counter manager Stephen Moss, who was manager at the Co-op for 18 months, and Louise Corking who served for over four years, are still seeking work as The Herald went to press.

Linda, from Underwood Road, who has lived in the area all her life, said: “There were seven post offices in the area – around Haslemere and Camelsdale – when I was a little girl. It is very sad, and they are closing nationwide.”

She said that according to an amateur enthusiast and archivist who had turned up out of the blue on Wednesday, there had been a post office in the Wey Hill area for 104 years.

The branch first opened in the Lion Green Co-op on November 7, 1996 and was previously in a draper’s shop premises now occupied by Kelway Law estate agents.

“So it is an end of an era for Lion Green,” she said.

• The Post Office advertisement to run a branch in the Wey Hill area remains live online at http://www.corporate.postoffice.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; business- opportunities quoting reference SPM017358.

A potential operator may already be a retailer in the same catchment area, or be planning to start up a retail business in the area.
The closing date for registering interest is December 23, but registration may close early if there is sufficient interest.