Bradley Stoke Town Council has been told by Royal Mail that it has no plans to provide a larger post office in the town.
The news, revealed during public questions at a recent Council committee meeting, will come as a disappointment to the vast majority of the 273 people who responded to a recent Council consultation to assess demand for better post office facilities in Bradley Stoke.
The survey, conducted between August and October this year, saw 92.7% of respondents express the view that there is a need for a larger post office in Bradley Stoke, with 76.6% specifically calling for a post office to be provided at the Willow Brook Centre.
The results of the consultation were sent to the Royal Mail, Tesco, the Willow Brook Centre and the local MP.
Speaking at this month’s meeting of the Leisure, Youth & Amenities Committee, Town Clerk Sharon Petela said a response had now been received from someone “high up” in Royal Mail.
According to Mrs Petela, who said she didn’t have the letter to hand as she was planning to reveal its content at the next Full Council meeting in January, the response could be summed up as: “nothing’s going to happen”.
She also revealed that the letter acknowledges customers’ concerns about queuing times at the existing post office within the Tesco Express store at Bradley Pavillions, Pear Tree Road, adding that Royal Mail says it will “see if anything can be done about it”.
The Royal Mail letter is said to conclude with an apology that “[our] response probably isn’t what you were hoping for”.
Town Mayor Ben Walker added that he had heard that Tesco might be willing to consider an upgrade of the existing post office facility at Pear Tree Road.
The campaign for better post office facilities in Bradley Stoke has been spearheaded by Cllr Tom Aditya, who was elected to the Town Council in May. He has previously accused Royal Mail of conspiring with the owners of neighbouring post offices to obstruct the opening of a new town centre post office in Bradley Stoke.
Photo: Post office campaigner Tom Aditya pictured in front of the Tesco Express store at Bradley Pavillions, Pear Tree Road.
No real surprise. The Post Office doesn’t even have that many services now, they are all online.
The response from Royal Mail is sad at this juncture, but that doesn’t mean we have to give up. I am still optimistic. However we have to do more work now and has to sit down with the Tesco Management and the local MP and get their confidence in this issue. After that, we could present our case with the Royal Mail again. I am sure that the Bradley Stoke Town desperately needs a full fledged post office with Passport & Identity checking, Biometric enrolment for foreign nationals, Licences & Vehicle tax, and Counter money services at the Town Centre. The senior citizens of our Town in the South and Central areas find it extremely difficult to get into the post office. I hope that the Royal Mail cannot keep a blind eye towards the popular demand for long. Thus says the Bible in Mathew 7:7 “Keep asking and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking and the door will be opened for you”.
I wish all of you peace, happiness, bright dreams and big goals for 2012!
Bad luck Tom, at least you tried.