Post Office says Melrose will not lose its service

The Post Office has revealed it is in talks with a local business about finding a suitable site in Melrose.
Melrose post master John Collins is waiting for a new home to be found for the post office before he retires.Melrose post master John Collins is waiting for a new home to be found for the post office before he retires.
Melrose post master John Collins is waiting for a new home to be found for the post office before he retires.

The future of the service has been uncertain in the town since postmaster John Collins announced plans to retire.

Discussing the issue at last month’s meeting of Melrose and District Community Council, members said they could be facing a ‘double whammy’, with the town potentially set to lose both its branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland, the last remaining bank in Melrose, and the post office.

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Chairman William Windram said: “We have had an email asking what we were going to do about the post office closure, but although there is a threat, as far as I know, the post office is still trying to find somewhere.”

Community councillor Robin Chisholm said: “This has been going on for three years and we still don’t know what is happening. Although it’s top of our agenda, it seems to be very low on theirs.”

The Post Office has since reassured residents that there are no closure plans afoot, although it has conceded that the service will probably move from its current site at Buccleuch Street, to share space with another business.

Speaking at the public meeting against the RBS closure in Melrose last Friday, Linda Bonar, external affairs manager for the post office, said: “We are wanting to keep a post office in Melrose and we will do everything we can to find a location. It is more difficult in rural areas, but we are definitely not looking to close it.”

She added: “We are engaging with a business at the moment, although I can’t go into detail while talks are happening.”