News / Hillswick shop gets post office back
THE HILLSWICK post office is moving into the newly re-opened community shop, early next month.
Yesterday (Monday), Post Office Ltd confirmed that the local branch was to relocate from the community hall to the refurbished shop, which is run by a local co-operative.
Hillswick Shop Committee chairman John Alex Cromarty said while the community was delighted to have the post office back in the shop, they were not happy with the limited opening times of just five hours per week.
Post Office Ltd said they had consulted with the community and responded to concerns raised by local people.
Therefore, the company said, it had adjusted the opening hours which were on Monday between 10 and 12pm and on Thursdays between 3 and 5.30pm.
“Opening times are not extended although they are slightly changed. That doesn’t make it any easier for people to be able to use the service,” Mr Cromarty said.
He added that the community would have liked to get back the full time service they had when the Hillswick shop was under previous ownership, but acknowledged that was unlikely in the current climate.
The current service in the hall will close at 5.30pm on Monday, 1 March, and re-open at
the shop at 3pm on Thursday, 4 March.
Kenny Lamont, from Post Office Ltd, said: “Our priority is to safeguard post office services to the local community in the longer term.
“The decision to relocate the branch to new premises is designed to secure continued access for our customers to post office services well into the future.”
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