Village is set to lose its post office (From Penarth Times)

Village is set to lose its post office

LLANDOUGH is set to lose its only post office after 40 years of service in the village.

A final date of January 19 has been set for the Lllandough closure.

There are only five post offices in the Penarth area which Llandough residents will need to go out of their way to visit.

The decision was made following a public consultation exercise during which customers, MPs, AMs and local organisations were asked their views.

Post Office's Head of Area for Wales, Dave Barrett said: 'We have had full discussions with Postwatch as well as individuals and local groups and we have carefully considered all the issues raised during consultation and the facilities available within the area in arriving at our final decision.

'During Public Consultation we met with and received letters and petitions from Cardiff City Council, Postwatch, the consumer body as well as other local political and community representatives and many customers.

Subsequently, I have considered their comments and have concluded that upholding our proposals is the correct thing to do.

'Proposals to close Post Office branches are not made lightly but we believe it is the right decision to proceed to close these branches.

We fully appreciate that using a different branch a little further away will be a major change for some, but we have carefully considered both the local terrain and the facilities available within the area, particularly parking and public transport, in arriving at our final decision.'

Vale of Glamorgan Councillor for Llandough, Colin Osbourne said: 'Both I and Llandough Community Council are very disappointed the post office is to close. It was the only retail outlet left in the village.

We are concerned the elderly will have to travel to Cogan or into Penarth which is not easy without transport.

We suggested a transport solution for the pensioners but that was not taken up.

'It is a terrible shame. There is a hairdresser in Llandough but little else.'