Malmesbury man protests temporary closure of ‘vital’ local Post Office

A man has organised a five mile (8km) walk to protest against the seven-week closure of a town’s “vital” post office.

Mubashir Akhtar, from Malmesbury, Wiltshire, is one the town’s residents who are criticising plans to ask customers to travel about five miles (8km) to Sherston, Crudwell, or Tetbury in Gloucestershire while the closure is in place.

The temporary move has been organised while the Co-op, where the Malmesbury post office is located, closes to undergo refurbishment.

A Post Office spokesperson apologised for the disruption to customers.

Mr Akhtar is embarking on the five mile (8km) walk from Malmesbury to Tetbury to “show how hard it is” for those who do not own a car or have mobility issues.

The journey will take him about two-and-a-half hours.

Although there are buses running between the two towns, a trip can take up to two hours to complete because of the infrequency of services.

Mr Akhtar said: “I spoke to an elderly couple who get their pensions [from the post office].

“There’s another who said they pay their utility bills through the post office and they don’t know what they’re going to do.”

His wife, Jumana, said the closure will cause “a bit of an issue”.

“I work full time. Royal Mail don’t give me a certain [delivery] time and I can’t always be here, they don’t come in the evenings when I’m at home.”

Mrs Akhtar added that there is another post office near her workplace, but she has to take time out of her working day or find time afterwards to go.

“It lengthens my day. I’ve got kids, it’s not suitable,” she said.

Fran Vandelli, a resident of more than 20 years, said the local post office is “really important”.

“They’ve closed all the banks on the High Street so I use it to pay money into my bank account.

“This time of year, it’s really been driven home how dependent we are on the post office.

“I think the post office owes us customers a service,” she added.

In December, the Post Office ruled out a temporary mobile branch for the town because the demand is “too great” – a decision which Phil Exton, the mayor of Malmesbury, called “ridiculous”.

“We are a rural town. We have no banks – we did have three banks – one’s now a charity shop, one’s a coffee shop and one’s just become an Italian restaurant.

“We’ve got a generation of residents who don’t do internet banking.

“The post office to them is vital.”

He added: “It’s ridiculous when [the Post Office] turn round and say that if the town was a bit smaller they could give us something.

“Because the town is the size that it is, they won’t do anything.

“There must be an alternative out there, it’s just the case of them finding it and getting on with it.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise for the disruption customers that use Malmesbury post office will face when the store, where it’s located, undergoes a refurbishment.

“We ask that our customers consider using Sherston post office which is accessible by public transport and is open long hours seven days a week.

“Alternatively Tetbury post office is located a short distance away by car.”

The Malmesbury post office will be closed from January 13 until March 6.