Councillors fear post office void in Berwick will be difficult to fill

Post Office services on the north side of the river came to an abrupt end when branches in the Four Seasons gift shop on Marygate and the Londis store on North Road closed in mid-October.

Customers are still able to access Post Office services at the Asda supermarket in Tweedmouth and the company is working to restore provision in the town centre as soon as possible.

The issue came up for discussion at a Berwick Town Council meeting at which members expressed doubts about the prospect of a solution.

It was noted that the town centre lacks convenience stores which often provide the service in other towns and clerk Gareth Davies felt that ‘in all likelihood’ the Post Office would find no commercial partner.

However, he revealed there are examples in other parts of the country where the local authority had got involved in helping to support the service.

He explained: "Local councils at our level have supported or enabled post offices, typically by working in partnership with the voluntary sector or with small local businesses to enable them to run a post office which wouldn’t otherwise be economically viable.”

But Cllr Robert Bruce said: “I don’t think we, as a council, should get involved with that. We’ve got enough on our plate without trying to run a post office.”

The clerk noted there was no great enthusiasm for a partnership solution.

"I can’t really see a business case for it,” said Cllr Paul Jackson. “We are using constituents’ money for the whole of the area.

"We can’t be bankrupting ourselves by taking on a post office that isn’t financially viable.”

Cllr Thomas Stewart suggested a Polish shop which has recently relocated to Marygate would be an option worth investigating.

Mr Davies said: “If we come across anyone who we think could put in a bid we can ask them if they’ve thought about it and we will continue to do that. It’s our preferred solution.

"In the meantime, when we receive any complaints or issues we’ll point them back to the Post Office.”