The Post Office has started a consultation process on plans to move from its current full post office service in the town centre on Green Street to a local post office service at an out of town location at the Gulf Petrol Station on Hamilton Road.

The map below is from the Post Office’s own consultation document and shows that the new location is a minimum 13 minute walk from the existing location and over half a mile away from the town centre. It is not on a direct public transport route and is in the middle of a residential area.

We feel this is detrimental to the service provided to both individuals and businesses as well as families, and will be particularly inaccessible to the elderly and those with mobility issues. The post office will be accessed through a busy petrol station forecourt and the location can only result in an increase in both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, impacting on local residents and potentially resulting in traffic queues on Hamilton Road. It could also cause increased on-road parking due to the lack of parking spaces in the petrol station and the need to use cars to get to the proposed location. Local businesses using the post office for banking in the absence of other options in the town centre will need to drive to Hamilton Road to access services, increasing traffic volumes yet again.

We urge as many people as possible to complete the consultation document to show the strength of feeling in Strathaven about this planned move and reduction in services. (See letter below).

To complete the consultation go to https://www.postofficeviews.co.uk/national-consultation-team/strathaven-ml10-6lt-163832/consultation/intro/

The deadline for submitting a response is December 13th 2022.