LETTER: Hexham Post Office needs a major expansion

Mail volumes are decreasing but parcels are increasing. 

And the Hexham office handles not only Royal Mail parcels but we can now collect courier packages from this designated pickup point. 

It’s no wonder that morning queues are out of the door for long periods.

But the Post Office’s business is more than just mail and parcels, it’s now our local moneyshop! 

Banks save £350,000 a year when they close a local branch. 

But it’s hard to manage our financial lives online or over the phone.   

For example, most of us need personal expertise when we’re sorting out the finances of a deceased loved one. 

Online and phone support does not provide the empathy or answer the questions we should have asked.

So the Post Office must give subpostmasters and mistresses an interest-free loan to move to larger premises. 

Customers can sort out their mail, parcels and cash transactions at the main counter. 

The rest of the space needs to be three offices which our banks can rent by the half day. 

That way the public waste less time on unnecessary queueing and also get to meet a real banker person when needed. 

Mike Foster

Hexham