PLANS for a village near Worcester to have its own post office in the parish hall car park seem to have been stamped out.
Kempsey’s parish council chairman claims the Post Office has given them the “runaround” and has not supported the plan.
As previously reported, the parish council secured funding from local councils and the EU to set up the £17,000 post office in a 21ft steel cabin delivered in October last year.
A postmaster had been found for the job but “excessive red tape” and lengthy delays in the Post Office’s “process of approval” forced the applicant to pull out.
Former parish council chairman Terry Ward had hoped the post office would open earlier this year.
He said six months ago: “Once the candidate gets the go-ahead then we can push on with the project.
"Once it gets going, I think it will be very successful.”
The entire project was to cost about £17,000 – £8,000 from the parish, £4,500 from Worcestershire County Council, £2,000 from Malvern Hills District Council and £2,000 of EU money.
New chairman John Michael, said he thinks the Post Office is “not interested” in the plan. He said: “There wasn’t a problem with the applicant. The problem was with the Post Office.
“They are going through re-organisation to a point where the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.
“We have a feeling they are really not interested in these small post offices, we were getting nowhere with them. Until they sort themselves out there is not a lot we can do.
“The applicant just got fed up in the end and he felt like they were giving him the runaround.”
Coun Michael said they are now unsure what to do with the cabin and are exploring possible options.
“We have now got this kitted-out unit. Are we going to sell it? Or rent it out for another purpose?
“We don’t foresee that we are going to get any joy out of the Post Office.
“We were trying to sort out some rural employment and went the extra mile to provide a facility.”
Coun Michael added how they are making enquiries to see if the grant will have to be repaid.
Kemspey’s old post office closed over two years ago when the postmaster retired. Since then villagers have had to use post offices in Worcester.
A Post Office spokesman said: “We are committed to restoring Post Office services in the Kempsey area and will continue working within the local community towards this aim.”
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