Local residents will be aware that planning permission has been granted for a new retail complex at Kingsley Village. The ownership of the site will soon pass from Kingsley Developers to CPG, who intend to redevelop the area for a number of stores including Marks and Spencer.
St Enoder Parish Council has been informed that the Post Office presently located within Kingsley Village will, as things presently stand, close at the end of April.
When the planning application was being dealt with, I sought guarantees that a Post Office would continue on the site. The company (CPG) which is in the process of purchasing the site agreed that this was acceptable to them and it was even written into the planning consent that: “A Post Office shall remain within the development.”
In addition, the present owners (Kingsley Developers) promised they would ensure that, during the construction of the new retail park, a local Post Office would continue at the eastern end of the Parish. Indeed, it was stated that there would be the provision of a temporary unit within the car parking area at Kingsley Village.
In recent days Amanda Kendall, the Clerk of the Parish Council, and I have had meetings with a representative from the main Post Office Ltd and the present owners, who we have been pressing to make good on the promises they made during the planning process.
The Post Office Ltd has told us that another option, in the short-term, would be “outreach.” This would consist of a temporary Post Office run from a venue such as a local village hall, and we are pushing for further information about how many hours such a service would be open.
We know how important the provision of a Post Office for the Fraddon / Indian Queens and St Columb Road area is, and we are putting a significant amount of pressure on all concerned to make sure that this local Post Office is not lost between now and when the new development is opened.
It is also the case that Post Office Ltd will be consulting on the future of this local Post Office in the near future. Please make sure that you impress on them just how important it is for the local area.
I will report back more when I have further confirmation on what will be happening.
2 comments:
Thank you for picking up the fight for this essential service in the village. It's great to have someone local to support local causes and hold businesses accountable for their actions. The post office is always busy and I use it at least once a week to pick up parcels and send out letters etc. Without a post office in the village it would be almost impossible for people working to use a post office outside office hours and people without transport/mobility difficulties will also find it extremely difficult to travel to the next nearest branch (St Columb?). Unfortunately I'm not surprised that it will try to be done away with or that the service will only temporary while building work is carried out. It's always about making as much profit as possible and not caring about who it affects.
Interesting!! I never considered it that way. I came across this site as of late which I suppose it will be an incredible utilization of new plans and informations.
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