Winter 2006/2007 Derbyshire's Rural Post Offices Fight Back
The last couple of months has seen wide coverage of the current concerns over the future of Britain's rural Post Office network. In mid-October a four-million-name petition was delivered to Downing Street calling for urgent government action to safeguard the network, following the decision to withdraw the £150m subsidies paid to Post Offices at the end of March 2008.
The government is under considerable pressure to seek alternative ways to deliver Post Office services to help ensure a longer term future for the rural network. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has promised a statement concerning the network and its funding before Christmas but as Rural Matters goes to press, no announcement has been made.
Although DRCC acknowledge the government's dilemma over the future sustainability of the rural Post Office network, the delay in announcing future policy decisions is causing great uncertainty for sub-postmasters and the rural communities they serve. DRCC hopes that communities will be encouraged to seek local solutions, with new opportunities of financial help from the Post Office and other potential service providers.
The Post Office not only offers much needed postal and banking services to a rural community. It is somewhere for social interaction, to catch up on the latest news, something acknowledged by Postcomm in their recent report Post Offices at the Crossroads.
As a solution to the closure of some rural post offices, local businesses have been looked to, to help continue a much needed community service. In many parts of the country, including Derbyshire, Post Offices have opened up in a variety of businesses including village halls, tearooms and pubs.
The Crown Inn at Higham is the latest rural pub in Derbyshire to open a Post Office counter within its premises. With grant-assistance from the Post Office, The Crown's landlady Rita Williams was able to convert a back room at the pub into the community Post Office. And since its opening in early July, it has received a warm welcome from local residents.
As the traditional heart of a small rural village, pubs offer a great alternative venue from which to host Post Office services. Derbyshire has a number of rural pub Post Offices across the county, including The Shoulder of Mutton at Osmaston, The Quiet Woman in Earl Stemdale and the Cross Keys Inn at Turnditch.
If your village is without a Post Office, or the current services are under threat, there are grants available (until March 2007) through Pub is the Hub for help with installing Post Office counters (and other rural services) within rural pubs in the East Midlands.
But rural pubs aren't the only place you can find new homes for Post Offices...
Derbyshire rural comunity council.pdf