Residents’ post office petition

RESIDENTS living in one area of Portishead have started a petition calling for a new post office to be opened in their area.

As the search continues to find a suitable site for a second planned post office in the town, residents living in the West Hill and Down Road area hope it will be created near them.

A petition calling for the new counter to be installed in the Costcutter supermarket at the top of Avon Way was launched on Monday afternoon and has already gathered hundreds of signatures.

Store owner Icy Patel, who is also a town councillor, said: “It’s about listening to the people.

“Many of my customers are elderly and have to travel more than a mile down the hill to access post office facilities. It is understandable that they want to see one nearer to their homes.”

Mr Patel says his store has sufficient space to allow for the introduction of a post office counter and he would be willing to make alterations to accommodate the service.

He has 16 years previous experience as a postmaster and says his family members, who work in Costcutter with him, also have experience of post office work.

Earlier in the year the Post Office advised Portishead Town Council that a second post office service will be introduced in the town as soon as a site can be agreed.

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

When the town was half its current size it boasted three separate post offices but currently has only one, situated inside a High Street shop.