Shock as Lavenham post office is shut down without warning

Villagers in Lavenham were “shell-shocked” to discover that their local post office had disappeared without warning.

In 2012 after the former sub-postmaster retired, it was feared that the village would lose its High Street post office but a new home was found for the facility in nearby Lavenham Pharmacy.

However, yesterday morning as customers queued outside the building, they were left with “gaping mouths” after learning that it had just been closed down by Post Office personnel.

Last night, a Post Office spokesman described the closure as “temporary” but was unable to give any further detail.

According to June Titterington, manager at Lavenham Pharmacy, 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 explaining that it would not be a viable option for the pharmacy.

She said: “This was a fortnight ago and we were awaiting a response, but the first thing we heard was when they came in this morning and literally closed the post office counter on the spot.

“Lavenham is quite a big village and the post office is a huge asset. We took it on not as a money-making scheme because we don’t even cover staff costs, but we felt it was a necessity for a community like this.

“We have been running it satisfactorily with the current hours and to bring in an extra member of staff for the post office wasn’t viable.

“We feel we have been dealt with very unfairly and without any consultation”.

Lavenham resident Dr Charles Posner described the closure as “a terrific blow” to the village.

He added: “They appear to have closed the post office down with no warning and this is totally unacceptable.

“There was a queue of people standing outside with mouths agape at what had happened – they were completely shell-shocked.

“The village is expanding and I am particularly worried about the many elderly residents because public transport is not available and the nearest post office is several miles away. You don’t do something like this without offering an alternative.”

Roy Whitworth, deputy vice chairman of Lavenham Parish Council echoed Dr Posner’s concerns.

He added: “More than 35% of the population of Lavenham are of pensionable age so losing the post office would be a tragedy because there are an awful lot people who are relying on that service for their pensions and many other things.”

Mr Whitworth said he hoped an alternative location could be found for the post office.

In a brief statement, a Post Office spokesman told the EADT: “We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by the temporary closure of the Lavenham branch.

“The alternative branches in the area include Monks Eleigh Community Shop, Great Waldingfield and Cockfield Post Office and Stores.”