On Thursday morning, Lavenham residents were left aghast after discovering their post office had disappeared without warning.
According to June Titterington – manager of Lavenham Pharmacy where the facility had been based since 2012 – the Post Office had asked them to extend their opening hours to include Saturday afternoons and an extra hour every evening.
A written reply had been sent a fortnight ago explaining it would not be a viable option for the pharmacy.
They were expecting to enter into a dialogue with the Post Office. However, last Thursday, she said Post Office personnel had turned up and “literally closed the post office counter on the spot” – much to the dismay of queuing customers.
In a brief statement, a Post Office spokesman described the closure as “temporary”.
Last night, James Cartlidge MP told the EADT after speaking to the Post Office he understood there was a dispute between the Post Office and the sub-postmaster.
“Naturally I was extremely concerned as soon as I heard about the sudden and unexpected closure of Lavenham Post Office,” he said.
“On Tuesday I spoke at length to a senior figure at Post Office counters head office. They explained that we have a contractual dispute between the Post Office and the sub-postmaster. Being a contractual dispute, there is a limit to what I can reveal of discussions.
“However, I know this means a great deal to people in Lavenham and the surrounding area, many of whom depend on the post office so I want to reassure residents that I will be doing all I can behind the scenes to try and work out precisely what is happening and what, if anything, can be done to progress the situation.”
Among Lavenham residents who wrote to the MP is Derek McBride.
He said local post offices provided a “valuable social need in most areas where elderly people wish to maintain their personal financial business in a local area”.
He added: “Lavenham has a thriving and growing population and deserves proper acknowledgement of its growing importance.
“Post Office Counters has a duty to recognise and support the established position it inherited from public ownership and serve communities in an appropriate manner.”
