Portishead to get second post office?

A SECOND post office could be on the cards for Portishead.

Dissatisfied customers have been given a glimmer of hope after the Government announced support for post office services across the country.

Pleas for a second post office in the town were dismissed in 2009, but speaking at Portishead Town Council meeting last week, Post Office network development officer Tim Nickolls said he has now submitted a business case to his head office due to the Government’s recent commitment to continue funding Post Office services.

Post office services have been a bone of contention in Portishead for years, with members of the community arguing that the current facilities do not meet the demands of the community.

Councillors took up the plight of disgruntled residents after a stream of complaints about the lack of current services.

When the population was half what it is now, the town boasted three post offices but now, despite being one of the fastest growing towns in the country, the only post office service is in Martin McColls newsagents and convenience store in High Street.

Queues for the four post office counters snake around the shop on a daily basis and at busy times of the year like Christmas, they spill back out on to the street. Shoppers say the congestion also makes shopping in the store very difficult.

Councillor Reyna Knight has explained the growing needs of the town in great depth to Post Office officials and says she is now optimistic a solution will be reached.

She said: “I don’t believe the Post Office had taken the vast growth of Portishead in to consideration and officials are now aware of our needs. We want to keep our residents shopping in our town but many are using post offices elsewhere rather than queue for ages using our current services.”

It has been suggested that the proposed new Sainsbury’s store may be able to accommodate a new post office service.

Post Office bosses are expected to make a decision about any service improvements for the town in the next few weeks.