We have been asked to inform residents of the recent difficulties concerning the South Zeal Outreach Post Office, provided for two hours each Tuesday in Belstone Village Hall. As many of you may be aware it was not able to run for four consecutive sessions,during May and June; however, it is now back as from 21st June.
The break in service was apparently due to a technical issue with the equipment needed to run the Post Office in Belstone and despite postmaster Alex’s many phone calls and residents’ emails of complaint to the Post Office headquarters, it still took all that time to resolve the situation. This has caused distress among residents who are unable to travel independently to South Zeal or Okehampton, and rely on the Post Office for paying utility bills, collecting pensions or for banking facilities – not only residents of Belstone, but also in other local villages for whom the same service is provided.
Some Belstone residents have contacted the Post Office, regarding this problem – on of whom has also contacted our MP, Mr Mel Stride, to ask for support in this matter. He has written to The Post Office to pass on the concerns expressed and received the following reply: –
Dear Mr Stride
Thank you for your email of 17 June sent to my colleague Laura, regarding our Post office Post Office outreach service at Belstone Okehampton. Laura has asked me to urgently look into this matter and respond on her behalf.
I have contacted the Area Manager responsible for the service in Belstone who has confirmed that due to a technical issue with the equipment the core branch has been unable to fulfill the service to the community for a number of weeks.
However, I am pleased to advise that this issue has now been resolved and the service has recommenced (as of Tuesday 21 June).
“I understand the importance of Post Office Services in communities such as Belstone and I would therefore ask that you pass on my sincere apologies to your constituents for the obvious inconvenience caused. I trust this information is helpful.”
The editors of this website have merely passed on information and are not in a position to to respond to readers of this post. If anyone has any comments to make, please contact The Post Office directly.
