Blow for Brora as post office set to close for second time
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Brora is set to lose its permanent, full-time post office just eight months after it was re-established following a three-year gap.
Postmaster Andrew Smith, who operates the service out of gift shop Kelpies Treasure, has confirmed he has tendered his resignation.
The post office is now due to close on Friday, September 3, and service managers say they are seeking a "temporary solution".
Ward councillor Deirdre Mackay, who was heavily involved in getting the full-time counter service running again, said she was disappointed.
"In terms of provision for the village, this news is deeply disappointing," she said. "It took us a very long time to secure a permanent post office and it is a service that is deeply valued.
"I will be working with the Post Office to secure a permanent solution."
The community first lost its permanent post office in November 2017 after the closure of its host premises, Bridgend Premier Store.
A mobile service was then put in place with a post office van calling twice a week and setting up shop for two hours at a time in the Gower Street car park.
The situation continued for three years until new business Kelpies Treasure, located in Argyll House on South Brae, opened up in June 2020 and agreed to host the post office.
The counter service finally reopened on January 19 this year.
Up until now Kelpies Treasure has been operated by two couples Andrew and Pat Smith and James and Fiona Cooke. Mr Smith took on the responsibility for the post office.
He told the Northern Times: "I am giving up the post office because we are going back to America where we lived for 10 years prior to coming to Brora."
He added that he hoped the post office would be reinstated.
Mr and Mrs Cooke will continue to run Kelpies Treasure but have decided not to take on the post office, saying: "We feel that even with the extra footfall, it has brought very little to the shop side of things."
Brora Community Council secretary Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera said: "The return of the post office to Brora was greeted with huge enthusiasm by local people as it provides such an essential lifeline for many. It will be a huge loss to the community if it closes again.
"Rural residents make greater use of mail services, including buying stamps and sending parcels. But rural post offices, like Brora’s, are also used much more for cash withdrawals.
"It will be older people, who place most reliance on having a local post office, who will be worst affected. A trip to Golspie or Rogart simply may not be feasible."
He added: "It's not only local folk who use the post office. With the demise of local banking, many small businesses rely on them - far more than their urban counterparts - for postal and banking services in particular.
"Without the local post office, their costs for accessing services will rise, and this can jeopardise the very feasibility of a small enterprise.
"We really don’t want to return to the mobile van service if at all possible."
A Post Office spokesman said: "We can confirm that sadly the postmaster for Brora has resigned and that he and his wife will be moving to the USA.
"We want to thank them for operating this branch as we know how important Post Office services are to a local community. The branch will close on September 3.
"We are actively seeking a temporary solution to maintain Post Office services to the community and hope to announce further details about any temporary service in the coming weeks."
The Post Office's business model is not to allow stand-alone post offices as in days gone by, but to site them in retail environments.
