The outgoing postmaster of Kinlochleven Post Office has posted a scathing report on the closure of his business.
Former councillor Andrew Baxter said the post office in the Lochaber village is “unlikely to reopen”.
Mr Baxter has been at the helm of the local business for 17 years. The post office will close at 4pm today and the cash machine will be soon removed.
In his post online, Mr Baxter thanked the business’ loyal customers.
He said: “At 4pm today I will switch off the lights and lock the door of Kinlochleven Post Office one last time.
Kinlochleven post office will close today at 4pm
“It doesn’t seem possible that it’s over 17 years since we took over the post office from John Macgregor.
“So much has changed since then. ”
He continued: “We moved from a tumbledown building that was falling down around us into the vacant Aluminium Story building.
“This allowed visitors to see the exhibition after Highland Council simply closed and forgot all about it. When we arrived there were just the two of us. Now we have a family with both children old enough to be at high school.”
He said the family received a warm welcome in the village, and they will continue to live in the area.
Mr Baxter said: “But Post Office Limited has changed as well. The company doesn’t really want to fund small rural post offices.
“They want them squeezed into the back of a convenience store and pay next to nothing.
‘They’ve had more than five years’ to find a solution
“We were never going to be able to resist their ‘modernisation’ plans in the long term.”
He said that in spite of the post office saying the closure was temporary, he said: “The village post office is unlikely to return.
“We endeavored to find different premises and operators with no real support from Post Office Limited.
“They’ve had more than five years to find another way of delivering post office services.”
A post office spokesman said: “We’re sorry to see the comments from our former postmaster.
“We have worked closely with him for a number of years regarding his branch and are grateful to him for providing his local community with essential services for so long.
“The vacancy to operate Kinlochleven Post Office is live and we’d welcome interest from retailers keen to operate the branch.
“In the meantime, the nearest alternative branch is Ballachulish which is open six days a week and is around 15 minutes away by car or just over 20 minutes away on the bus.”
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