Georgetown is to get its full-time post office service restored at a new permanent site. A temporary service has been operating from Georgetown Library since August following the resignation of operator CJ Lang from the Spar shop.
However, community appeals, backed by local politicians, urged the Post Office to come up with a more permanent solution with more hours.
The library post office service will close on Friday, May 20, at 3pm and the new Georgetown Post Office – offering 57 hours of Post Office service a week –will be launched within the Premier Store, 43 Calside Road on Monday, May 23, at 1pm.
A Post Office counter will operate alongside the retail counter of the convenience store Monday to Saturday from 8am to 5.30pm. Steven Simpson, Post Office network provision lead, said: “We are delighted to be restoring a permanent, full-time Post Office at Georgetown as we know how important a Post Office is to a community.
“We sincerely thank Dumfries and Galloway Council for providing the library premises in the interim which allowed us to maintain service to the community.”
Although the community has been given the option to give feedback until May 27 – online at postofficeviews.co.uk with the branch code 226818 – Mr Simpson said that, given the appeals already for a permanent solution: “We are keen to restore full-time services to this community as soon as possible, so we have decided to go ahead with our plans.”
South of Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said: “This is great news for Georgetown and it is down to the hard work and commitment of the community who have worked tirelessly to help secure a new home for their Post Office. I’m also grateful to Post Office and the shop owners who have responded with this proposal.
“For almost a year I have been working with local councillors, businesses and groups to find solutions to the Post Office closures in their areas and I’m happy this has worked out in Georgetown.
“However, there are still other towns and villages in our area which are struggling to find long term solutions to Post Office closures. A lot of work still needs to be done and we need the help of local businesses and the community to ensure we don’t lose these services. Having a Post Office in the community is vital for so many of my constituents, particularly those who are older or people who can’t travel easily.”
