Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Disappointing and concerning’: Portsoy to lose post office services at end of month

Post Office sign.
Three Post Office branches across the Highlands and islands could be forced to close. Image: Mark Newcombe/Shutterstock.

An Aberdeenshire town will lose its post office services at the end of the month, it has been announced.

The Post Office counter in Portsoy will close from Monday, October 31.

The branch has been based in Portsoy Ice Cream on Seafield Street for the past 13 years but is now being forced to close due to the resignation of the postmaster.

Post Office has apologised in advance for the inconvenience which will be caused and said it is investigating the options to reinstate services for the community.

It has stressed the closure is being treated as temporary.

A letter to customers confirming the closure states: “The provision of a Post Office service to our customers in the local community is important to us, and we will continue to work hard to restore services in the area as soon as possible.”

‘Hammer blow to community’

The post office in Portsoy was run by sub-postmaster Jim Smith for 19 years from Culbert Street before moving to the ice cream shop in June 2009.

The premises has now been withdrawn for Post Office use, which is further contributing to the closure.

Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid has described the closure as a “hammer blow” to the community – which includes many people who rely on the services daily.

The Post Office is based in Portsoy Ice Cream on Seafield Street. Picture by Paul Glendell/DC Thomson.

He said: “It’s disappointing and concerning that the village will now be left without a post office during these challenging times.

“This will especially make it difficult for older and more vulnerable residents who now face a ten-mile round trip to the likes of Whitehills and Cullen.”

The Whitehills post office is located around five miles from the Portsoy branch and is open seven days a week.

The other closest alternative is based in Cullen, around 5.4 miles away, and is open between Monday and Saturday.

Seeking new premises

A vacancy has now been shared online seeking applicants to set up a new Post Office in the Portsoy area.

Applications are open to retailers in the area that could incorporate Post Office services into their established business.

The closing date for applications is Saturday, November 26.

Banff and Buchan MP David Ddugud has written to Post Office with his concerns. Image: Supplied.

As well as sharing his concerns about the upcoming closure with Post Office, Mr Duguid is also encouraging local businesses to help restores services in the town.

He continued: “I have written to the Post Office and spoken to the community council in a bid to ensure we do everything possible to keep a postal facility in the village.

“The importance of rural post offices cannot be understated but we have seen an alarming number of closures across Aberdeenshire communities this year.

“This is why I encourage anyone who believes they could fill this void in Portsoy to get in touch with the Post Office to express their interest.”

The confirmation of the Portsoy closure follows that in Potterton in April and the branch on West High street in Inverurie back in January.

Conversation