WITN09020108 - Newspaper clipping 3 - re: Post Office’s Owners ‘left in the lurch’ by Frances Bickerdike

Evidence on official site

Pos

By FRANCES BICKERDIKE

THE stunned owners of a
Cleveleys Sub Post Office
~ suddenly closed after
the sub-postmaster was
suspended - were
shocked to hear their
building is not to reopen
for business.

Business partners Julie
Wolstenholme and Roger
Harrison first knew of their
fate when The Gazette con-
tacted them yesterday.

Takeover

Julie, who co-owns the build-
ing on Runnymede Avenue with
Roger, said: “This is news to us.
We were in the process of or-
ganising a takeover of the shop
and a lease was being drawn up.

“We were hopeful the Post Of
fice was going to re-open with a
new owner taking over the
lease,” said Julie.

Julie and Roger were sur-
prised to hear the Post Office
had contacted The Gazette ask-
ing for people who would be in:

WITNO09020108
WITNO9020108

Office's
ers ‘left
e lurch’

WHAT do you think about the
decision to move the post
office? Give us.your views by
ringing TALKBACK and leaving
your name, address and
telephone number. Calls are
charged at standard rate.
terested in running a Sub Post
Office in the Cleveleys area. It
said: “Applicants, who must be
able to provide suitable premis-
es, should contact the agency re-
cruitment section.”

The couple say they had a
deadline of last Monday morn-
ing to submit their takeover
plans and they claim they had
complied with this.

“We are now left with a build.

ing and no Post Office,” she
said.

Pensioners have struggled to
collect their pension after the
Sub Post Office suddenly closed
at the end of November after al-
legations of breach of contract.

At the time the Post Office
said they would do everything
they could to find a temporary
sub-postmaster as soon as possi-
ble but so far no-one has been
appointed and residents are
forced to travel to Post Offices
in Rossall Road, North Drive
and Fleetwood Road.

Said Julie: “We were hoping
this situation could have been
re ved quickly but now our
building is not going to be used
it may take months for a new
Sub Post Office to open.

“We have spoken to one pen-
sioner who now has to spend £5
‘ona taxi to collect her pension.”

A spokesman for the Post Of-
fice said he was not prepared to
discuss the personal details of
the case but said: “We want to
maintain the counter service
and have decided the only way
todo that is to look elsewhere. *