New Year, new full-time post office for Brora!
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The new year is beginning with a high note for Brora with the news that the village is to regain its full-time post office after three years making do with a mobile service.
Community leaders and local people have welcomed an official announcement this week that a post office is to reopen at 1pm on January 19.
It is to be operated out of gift shop Kelpies Treasure, located in a central spot on Argyll House on South Brae, and run by two couples, Andrew and Pat Smith and James and Fiona Cooke.
Mr Smith has been appointed postmaster.
East Sutherland and Edderton ward councillor Deirdre Mackay, a local resident, said: “This is very welcome news indeed. The Brora community has been without a full time, permanent post office service for a considerable time now.
“The regulations involved with setting up a post office are protracted and challenging and it is heartening that Mr and Mrs Smith stepped up to the challenge.”
“The post office offers a valuable range of services which will be warmly welcomed by the community and I wish the venture every success.”
Former community councillor Sandy Crawford, also a local resident, said: “We’re absolutely delighted and it’s brilliant news for the village. It has been a long time coming and will be well used.”
The community lost its permanent post office in November 2017 after the closure of its host premises Bridgend Premier Store.
Since then the district has been served by a mobile van which calls twice a week on Mondays and Fridays, setting up shop for two hours at the Gower Street car park.
The nearest full-time post office is a 11-mile round trip away at Golspie.
The closure of the Clydesdale Bank in Brora In October 2019 exacerbated the situation and Cllr Mackay held a high powered meeting, attended by Post Office’s head of external relations Steven Miller, to discuss the way forward.
The meeting was told that an operator interested in providing post office services at Brora had pulled out, but that another expression of interest had since been received.
So keenly was the loss of a full-time post office felt, that at one point Brora and District Action Group (Badag) agreed it would consider operating the service, but only as a last resort.
A new business, Kelpies Treasures opened in June and sells local arts and crafts. The introduction of the post office was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
David Duff, Post Office Network provision lead, said: “We are delighted to be restoring a full-time post office to Brora.
“We want to thank Postmaster Glyn Jackson for providing a mobile post 0ffice service to Brora for the past three years until we could open a replacement branch.”
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP Gail Ross said: "Post Office services are absolutely vital in our remote rural communities and I’m pleased that the temporary mobile service will soon come to an end. Temporary mobile services are not a substitution for the service that can be provided in store, particularly in winter."
The post office is looking for feedback about accessibility and is inviting customers and interested parties to give their comments.
The consultation will close on January 13. Customers can share their views online at postofficeviews.co.uk with the branch code 316840.
The opening hours will be Monday to Saturday: 10am – 4pm,
