Marlborough is facing Christmas without a Post Office. Or so it appears. The Post Office area at the back of One Stop is closed with notices stating ‘The Post Office will be closed untill (sic) further notice. Sorry for any inconvenience caused’.
No-one from One Stop was available to comment regarding the closure or provide answers to the basic questions of how long before it reopens(?); what is the reason for this closure(?); what is the alternative for customers needing to use a Post Office(?).
The single counter at the front of the store (which justifies the claim on the Post Office website that Marlborough has a Post Office open between 06:00 and 22:00 seven days a week) was also closed today, so no postal service was available to anyone in Marlborough.
But as a correspondent pointed out in a recent letter to marlborough.news, it was closed again during the day whilst the main counters to the rear were displaying closure apology notices and it wasn’t even possible to buy a stamp for a small package with cash there as the staff appeared to be unfamiliar with the basic procedure required and the cash drawer couldn’t be opened.
What are the alternatives? Nearest Post Offices are in Pewsey, Wroughton, Calne, or there are several in Swindon.
For anyone that doesn’t drive or has no access to a car but needs the Post Office service beyond that offered by the single counter at the front of One Stop (always assuming that it were open) – what are their options? A bus? Or nothing?
Not many years ago there were two Post Offices in Marlborough (the London Road office was closed some while back) and since then it has just been One Stop and the inevitable long queues at busy times.
