‘Deep sadness’ as Barrowby Post Office to close for good

Rising costs and fewer customers, coupled with Royal Mail issues, have forced the closure of a long-standing village post office.

Since announcing that Barrowby Post Office will close at the end of April, postmistress Jennifer Pinner has been overwhelmed by kindness from the village community.

Dozens of people have left kind messages and customers have been in tears, as has Jen, who said she feels “deeply saddened” to have it close under her management.

Jen, 40, said: “I’m gutted that I’m having to close the post office but I have to think of the bigger picture. We’re constantly running at a loss. We’re not making any money.

“I have my family and my health to think about.

“It’s not what I wanted to happen. I took this on thinking this would be my forever job.

“The woman who had the post office before me had been trying to sell it for five years so she was really happy when she sold it, but I can’t feel happy. It’s not a profitable business so I can’t sell it.

“I’m sad that it’s come to this under my management, I feel very guilty.”

Jen, who lives in the village with husband Danny and sons Phoenix, 10, and Memphis, 7, took over Barrowby Post Office on March 12, 2019.

After working at Grantham Book Services for 19 years, she decided to leave her job as a team leader in the customer services department to take on a “new challenge”.

“When I realised the village post office was up for sale I thought, ‘why not give it a go?’,” she said.

“It was brilliant for the first one-and-a-half to two years, it was fantastic. We were busy with customers.”

When the Covid pandemic began, what started as a rocky patch for the post office soon turned around – with people unable to travel far and wanting to keep in touch with loved ones, it was a busy time.

However, customers dwindled once life started to get back to normal and a combination of factors began to hit the post office hard.

The opening of a Lincolnshire Co-op in the village in December has contributed heavily to the drop in income, as have moves by Royal Mail to bypass post offices, such as introducing downloadable postage labels and parcel collection services.

Jen believes not enough is being done by those high up in the Post Office chain to mitigate the impacts on post offices and avoid closures.

Extensive Royal Mail strikes in December also had a significant knock-on effect. They saw Royal Mail move the guaranteed Christmas postal delivery date from the usual few days before Christmas to December 12.

Jen said: “Christmas time is usually the busiest time for stamps – some people will buy sheets of them.

“I order in 4,500 second class stamps and a week before Christmas I’m almost sold out.

“Last year I had to send 2,500 stamps back.”

A supporter of local businesses, the post office sells bread by Bloomsbury Bakery and jams and chutneys made by a villager. There are posters up in the windows and on a noticeboard giving details of local events and services provided by local businesses.

Children at Barrowby Primary School pop in for sweets as they pass – but even this is not as often as it once was.

“A lot of the parents drive now and they’ll pop into the Co-op instead of coming in here,” said Jen.

“There used to be a queue outside of kids waiting to come in but now we get two or three.”

With a new job to look forward to, it is the people Jen will miss the most.

“There’s no fun in counting money or posting parcels, it’s the people side I like,” she said.

“Everyone’s got a smile and a ‘good morning’ when they come through the door.

“I’ve been to funerals and I’ve been heartbroken for every single one we’ve lost.

“And there are so many stories…I always say ‘what’s said in the post office, stays in the post office’.”

In an emotional Facebook post to her customers, Jen said: “It has come to a point where I can no longer keep going as debts are increasing with no means to recoup them as we are constantly running at a loss.

“I feel deeply saddened, that under my ownership it has come to this but I feel I have been left with no choice. I have a family to support and them to think of.

“I am deeply sorry for those who rely on the post office, I mean this from the bottom of my heart. I have loved my time here and truly wish things had not ended up like this.

“I truly hope that during my time here I have made the post office an enjoyable experience to all that have visited.

“Thank you to all who have supported me in the last years, I will miss you all.”

The post office building has been sold and its use is likely to be changed from retail to residential.