LDRSAn Inverness Post Office marked for closure has received a public show of support to continue operating.
It is one of three Post Offices in the Highlands and more than a hundred across the country which could be closed as part of a Post Office shake-up.
Post Office chairman Nigel Railton recently announced plans to sell off 115 company-owned Post Offices, including the Inverness branch.
However, the Post Office could close if no suitable buyer is found to franchise the city centre store.
The LDRS went to the Queensgate branch and asked the public for their thoughts.
One clear message came from the visit – where else are people to go if the Inverness Post Office is no longer?
Local wood carver Tom Banks said: “I post parcels and they have a parcel drop off point here.
“I can walk from my house and post which you can’t do at a post box.
“It’s great. It saves me a lot of time. That’s really good when you’ve got a small business.
LDRS“I would need to go somewhere else. This is a walking distance for me so that’s quite good. I might have to drive somewhere, and it’s not good using the car.”
Angela Cameron regularly uses the Post Office to send parcels bought through online retailer eBay.
She said: “I don’t like the fact that it could be closing. I use it all the time.”
“They are treating Inverness like we are second-class citizens”
Inverness resident Harriet said: “It would be a nightmare” if the city centre branch was to shut up shop.
She added that losing vital services like a Post Office will feel “like we are in a third-world country.”
Moira Wilson said: “I would be really sad to see it go. A lot of people use it.
“I wouldn’t know what to do if it went away. I can’t reach anywhere else.”
Post Office depended on by those outside of Inverness
Visitors from outside Inverness have already seen their local services diminished, forcing them to make trips to the Inverness branch.
Simon Goodey said: “It would be a big downer if the post office was to close.
“There’s always a queue, obviously lots of people use it. I used to have a local Post Office that has closed and now I come here.
“If they close this, where will I go? There is nowhere else.”
Dentist and researcher Mojtaba Mehrabanian said: “I came from Dingwall because we have no postal service there.”
“It’s close to the station and easy to get to. Where will we go if it closes?”
However, Inverness’ postal facilities are not perfect and the central Inverness branch is not immune from stagnating services.
One Post Office regular complained her wait times were over half an hour, and they had no pens available for customers to use as they kept being stolen.
“It caused me so much stress,” she remarked.
Some services within the post office, such as the self-service tills, are currently closed.
Indifference among some locals
Not all members of the public the LDRS spoke up in support of the post office.
One local remarked: “I haven’t used it in five years. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Around 25% of the respondents the LDRS spoke to had a neutral or negative view about the Inverness branch remaining open.
Angela Cameron said workers are “very stressed” whenever she visits the Post Office.
Another post office regular said how some customers can back up the queues for others when there is an issue.
They added that it was “important” for the service to remain open, despite the persistent issues as “people rely on it.”
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