I pray for this pension

“Altar” Post Office Plans

Peter Atkinson the Conservative MP for Hexham is calling for Post Offices to be allowed to operate from selected churches in rural areas, and it’s not that bad of an idea. In smaller villages and hamlets the Post Office is more than a business, it is in effect a community asset where local people regularly meet to exchange more than savings and pensions.

This summer the Post Office will begin to announce it’s plans for closures within Tyne and Wear and it is feared that many more sub-Post Offices will disappear, yet I’ve thought for some time now that the Post Offcice counter business ought to be franchised and marketed more effectively to allow other businesses to participate.

Come to think of it, since the closure of the Boldon Lane sub-Post Office in South Shields, what a good idea it would be to have a Post Office unit operating within the financially threatened West Harton Churches Action Station, where an anonymous donation of £10,000 has provided them with the equivalent of another month’s lifeline. Such a franchise could see the operator sharing a small part of the Post Office profits.

Perhaps we should offer a few prayers?

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