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Residents have said they’re “not happy” at a post office being downsized in an Essex town. In West Mersea, the main post office closed on Friday, June 9, to be replaced with a new ‘local service’ branch inside the Premier Mersea Island Supermarket.
While the new branch offers longer opening hours, including on Saturday mornings, some residents have expressed anger and regret at the change. Linda Sterry, 75, said she’s not happy about the main post office’s closure.
She said: “I think it’s funny the post office and the bank closed at the same time. It’s sad we’re losing the post office.
Read more: New ‘local service’ Post Office opening after main branch closes in Essex town
She said you can’t do everything from this new counter, so people will have to go to Colchester. It’s especially an issue for the elderly population of the island, who rely on the post office a lot.
Linda said: “I think it’s sad.” The post office used to be inside Coastal Coffee, a cafe on the high street run by Jenny Urqhart.
Jenny, 51, said: “It’s best for them as they’ll be open more hours, and helps the community a lot more.” The new counter will enable more people to be able to access post office services outside of their own working hours.
According to Keesan, who runs the Island Supermarket and whose wife is the new postmaster, the old post office was only open between 10am and 4pm. This meant anyone who worked a normal 9-5 job was unable to get to the post office.
But now, the counter will be open from 9am until 6pm every day and will also be open on Saturdays from 9am until 12.30pm.
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