Getting a government department or any other large bureaucratic organisation to change its mind and move in a different direction always looks like mission impossible. It feels like rolling a rock up hill, which is why many people despair and say “they won’t listen, there is no point”.
Well sometimes it really does make a difference. When the Post Office announced the closure of the branch in Stanwell Road they promised to look for ways of replacing that branch.
At that stage some of us asked whether it made sense to have three Post Office branches in close proximity to each other when other parts of the town have none at all.
When Mr and Mrs Blunsdon who run the Spar in Brockhill Way offered a home for a new Post Office in their shop that seemed to make a lot of sense. A service in the south westerly part of the town would be a boon to elderly people and those without transport, and better distribute the services in Penarth as a whole. Along with Lorraine Barratt as our Assembly Member I presented a petition to the Post Office calling on them to consider this option
The good news is that it will happen!
There are two big positive results. A grant from Welsh Assembly Government is going to lead to a better services at both Wood Street and in the centre of town. And a new type of services called Post Office Local will go into the Spar in Brockhill Way for a 12month trail. If local people use that service it can become permanent.
When the Post Office undertook a closure programme two years ago we were disappointed when they maintained their decision to close the Post Office in Cogan but the fact of the matter is that hardly anyone used that branch, and while we have suggested ways of providing a service to Cogan and Llandough a local Post Office is a business that has to have users. The new Post Office in the town centre is always full when I use it, as is the branch at Wood street. The Post Office is an important national brand that is valued locally this week’s news is that the Post Office has listened and will be providing a better service to the whole of Penarth in the future.