Locals in Inverness have been having their say about the future of the city’s main post office after it emerged it could close.
More than 100 branches across the country – three in the Highlands – could be closed as part of a Post Office sell-off.
Inverness’s main Post Office could be closed if no suitable buyer is found to buy and run the city centre store.
The P&J went to the busy Queensgate branch to see just how essential this busy city centre branch is to its customers.
One clear message came from the visit – where else are people to go if the Inverness Post Office is no longer?
Business post and eBay parcels
Local wood carver Tom Banks said: “I post parcels and they have a parcel drop off point here.
“I can walk from my house and post which you can’t do at a post box.
“It’s great. It saves me a lot of time. That’s really good when you’ve got a small business.
“I would need to go somewhere else. This is a walking distance for me so that’s quite good. I might have to drive somewhere, and it’s not good using the car.”
Angela Cameron regularly uses the Post Office to send eBay parcels.
She said: “I don’t like the fact that it could be closing. I use it all the time.”
Inverness post office: ‘second class citizens’?
Inverness resident Harriet said it would be “a nightmare” if the city centre branch was to shut up shop.
“They are treating Inverness like we are second class citizens.”
Moira Wilson added: “I would be really sad to see it go. A lot of people use it.
“I wouldn’t know what to do if it went away. I can’t reach anywhere else.”
Post Office depended on by those outside of Inverness
Visitors from outside Inverness have already seen their local services diminished, forcing them to make trips to the Inverness branch.
Simon Goodey, from Dingwall, said: “It would be a big downer if the post office was to close.
“There’s always a queue, obviously lots of people use it. I used to have a local post office that has closed and now I come here.
“If they close this, where will I go? There is nowhere else.”
Dentist and researcher Mojtaba Mehrabanian said: “I came from Dingwall because we have no postal service there.”
“It’s close to the station and easy to get to. Where will we go if it closes?”
Who wouldn’t miss Inverness post office?
Not all members of the public spoke up in support of the post office.
One local remarked: “I haven’t used it in five years. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Around 25% of the respondents the P&J spoke to had a neutral or negative view about the Inverness branch remaining open.
Angela Cameron said workers are “very stressed” whenever she visits the post office.
Another regular described how some customers can back up the queues for others when there is an issue.
They added that it was “important” for the service to remain open, despite the persistent issues, because “people rely on it”.
Why are the Post Office doing this?
The announcement, made by Post Office chairman Nigel Railton, is part of a broader strategy to streamline operations and transition to a fully franchised model.
At the time, he said they wanted to “secure the service for the future”.
A spokesman for the Post Office added: “The plan intends to create a new operating model for the business that means ensuring the Post Office has the right organisational design.”
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