Burghead Post Office will close at the end of the month and won’t reopen unless another retailer steps in.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead confirmed the news and expressed his concerns for the Burghead community.
He said: “I know that many in the Burghead community will be concerned by the temporary closure of the local post office, and as is always the case there will be a fear that the service may not reopen again.”
Mr Lochhead is now asking the Post Office if they will consider running a mobile service in Burghead and says reassurances have been made from the branch.
He added: “The Post Office has offered assurances that it is committed to providing a service in Burghead and is actively looking for a new postmaster to run the service.
“I’m aware that in some other Moray communities, the Post Office has managed to secure a mobile service once a week.
“I’ve asked whether this could be looked at for Burghead as a temporary solution, until such times as a permanent service reopens.”
‘We apologise for the inconvenience’
The Post Office has issued a letter to their Burghead customers on their website, written by network provision lead David Duff.
He said: “Regrettably, following the resignation of the postmaster and the withdrawal of the premises for Post Office use, the branch will be closing on January 30 at 17.00.
“We will continue to work hard to restore services in the area as soon as possible.
“We would welcome any applications from potential retail partners interested in running a branch locally on our behalf.
“I would like to assure you that we are working hard to keep any period of closure to a minimum and we are investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community.
“It is important that any future service is sustainable for the person operating the service, and for Post Office limited.
“We would like to apologise for the inconvenience the temporary closure may cause.”
The news of the closure comes less than two months after police investigated a theft from Burghead store and post office.
The robbery took place just before 2am. Photos from the scene showed glass doors at the entrance of the store were smashed during the incident.
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