Under threat Shropshire post office wins six-month reprieve

The post office at Clee Hill, which serves a wide area east of Ludlow, will stay where it is at Clee Hill Stores, it has been agreed, following a public consultation that ended in September.

Post Office Ltd had proposed to close the counter and instead offer a mobile van service that would only be in the village for a few hours at a time on certain days of the week, as a more "sustainable" option. The idea proved unpopular with residents and local councillors who said the service was a lifeline for the surrounding community and a limited mobile service would result many elderly people having to queue in the often bad weather on the hilltop.

Now Post Office bosses have agreed to keep the permanent counter going until next spring, while it negotiates the possibility of allowing staff at the shop to run it themselves.

In recent weeks Rajinder Kaur and her family, who run the shop, have submitted a formal letter to Post Office bosses asking to take on the counter that has been run "temporarily" from the shop on the A4117 for years.

Mrs Kaur said: "It's going to stay until March, near Easter time, when they will decide what to do."

She said she had had a meeting with Post Office representatives and was due to have more.

"It's still up in the air, there are a lot of fees and things to be done if we want to take it on.

"There is a lot to think about."

Philip Dunne, Ludlow MP, said he had been told by Post Office representatives that after collating the responses from local people, they would not be proceeding with the change.

He said: "When this consultation was announced I made clear I had real concerns that a move to offering mobile Post Office services would not be sufficient for a village of Clee Hill's size.

"I am very pleased the Post Office have listened to our concerns, and decided to maintain the branch in Clee Hill Stores."