A SOMERSET MP has launched a petition calling for the return of a ‘full-blown’ Post Office in Wellington.
Gideon Amos (Lib Dem, Taunton & Wellington) has launched a campaign for the return of Post Office facilities in the town.
It comes after the last Post Office – housed in the One Stop shop in the High Street – closed with the store in 2019, leaving townsfolk with a trip to Rockwell Green for the nearest facility.
“For a town of 15,000-plus people to be without its own Post Office is absolutely ridiculous and this is one of my top priorities as 2025 gets underway,” he said.
Last week Mr Amos, alongside mayor of Wellington Cllr Janet Lloyd, opened a banking hub in Fore Street which will provide in-person services to residents.
The ‘hub’ model is something Mr Amos said should be adopted for Post Office services.
“The failure of the government-backed Banking Hub scheme to also provide Post Office services – even though some are run by the Post Office – is a major missed opportunity for communities up and down the country,” he said.
The Post Office has announced a ‘Drop & Collect’ service at Wellington Newsagents, also in Fore Street, which will run from January 23, but Mr Amos wants to see all services return.
READ MORE: MP and mayor open new banking hub facility in Wellington
“I know there are a lot of potential challenges and there are different ways of doing it but, having got the Banking Hub, we need a Post Office, whether that’s as part of the Banking Hub by getting government to change the rules and allow us to have a Post Office within it – or we manage to get a Post Office in other premises in the town centre,” he went on.
“One way or another, having got a Banking Hub, we now need to get a Post Office and keep building a better future for Wellington town centre.”
Wellington Town Council is backing the petition, said Cllr Lloyd.
“As Gideon states, a town the size of Wellington should have a Post Office in the town centre,” she said. “The staff at Rockwell Green Post Office offer excellent service and customer care but it is not convenient for many residents as it is not in the centre of the town.
“At busy times, like Christmas, there are people queuing on the pavement waiting to use the facility.
“I also am aware that, since 2019 when the previous Post Office closed, at least two business owners in the town centre have investigated operating a postal service in their premises but the funding given for the services did not make such an option viable.
“As Gideon highlights, expansion of the Cash Access UK Banking Hubs could alleviate and solve this issue.”
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