Post office to close

Owners Dave and Barbara Costigan have been trying to sell the branch for the last two years and have reached the point where they cannot go on any longer.

The couple have given three months notice to Post Office Ltd, saying that unless a buyer is found by May the couple will have no option but to shut the office completely.

Mr Costigan, who has run the combined post office and newsagents branch with his wife for the last four years, said: "We're very sorry that we're putting the people of Porthleven in this position. It's not a decision we have taken lightly and not a situation we ever thought we'd be in, but we can't see any solution to it."

He explained that, since the government's announcement that 2,500 offices are to be shut nationally over an 18-month period starting next summer, no one had shown any interest in buying the branch, which has been on the market for just under £400,000.

"There's absolutely no interest whatsoever and you can't see that changing for the foreseeable future. We have reached retirement age and if there's no one to take it on we have got no option really," he added.

Mr Costigan said that the couple stood to make a financial loss from their decision and would be sorry to leave, but they had decided the time was right.

"It's something we've hated doing, because I never foresaw it happening at all. It's very well supported by local people and they want to keep it here. But it's also a lot of hard work and very long hours. Psychologically, once the rug's pulled out from under your feet and there's no chance of selling it, it makes you feel, what's the point of struggling for another two years only to be in the same situation then?"

He added that he would be delighted to sell the business as a going concern, as it was still a good business that was well supported.

Mr Costigan said that there were already rumours making their way through the village that a mobile post office would be brought to Porthleven in its place and that a number of other businesses were interested in taking it on - neither of which were strictly true.

In fact, he concluded, things were still at an early stage and no future course of action had yet been determined.

MP Andrew George has already condemned the potential threat to rural post offices, accusing the government in December of "creating the condition for failure rather than success."

When the Packet told him the news about the Porthleven office he said: "It comes as quite a shock really, to hear the news. I'll be watching and monitoring the situation as closely as I can."

Mr George said he would be "very, very surprised" if there was not a local solution to the situation and he believed it would be an ideal franchise for another business in the port.

"I really don't think that post offices like Porthleven should be under threat. If they are under threat and the business proposition of a franchise is so unattractive that others are not interested, this reflects very badly on the Post Office Counters business itself. They are clearly not rewarding the people who give up so much of their time and effort to run these resources," he added.

News of the post office threat came in the same week as rumours raced through Porthleven that the port's other remaining newsagents, Cowls, was also due to close.

Owner Elaine Taylor confirmed yesterday that there had been plans to close, but that she had now decided to continue running for a bit longer.

Mrs Taylor said: "We were thinking of it, but as it stands we're going to hang on and see what happens. The trouble is the winter trade is going down and down - there are so many holiday lets. You're sailing close to the wind all winter. But we're going to keep going for as long as we can. I've got some fabulous customers and I can't let them down, but they're getting fewer and fewer. It's basically down to, Use us or lose us'."

She believed that the closure of the post office would not do Porthleven any good and feared it could be another step closer to making the port a ghost town during the winter months, adding: "It's a rotten shame."

VOX POP TO GO UNDERNEATH MAIN COPY (only three photos though) Residents of Porthleven have reacted with horror at the news of the impending closure.

Pensioner Peter Cowls, of Church Road, lives just behind the post office. He said: "I've only got to go a few steps and I'm there, so it's handy for me. I think it's a shame. It means I've got to go to Helston for anything I do. I've had a couple of heart attacks, so I can't get around as much these days."

Lesley Cliff, from Thomas Terrace, had just got back from the post office. She said: "I think it would be an absolute shame. Everybody uses it - you never go in there and see nobody. It would be bad news for everybody I think."

She added that there were a lot of elderly residents and people with young children and no transport, who it would be particularly effect.

Mother and daughter, Rosie Churchan and Kerry McLintock, were shocked when told of the news. Rosie said: "It's the focal point of the village - even more than the pubs. We're an elderly population. It's where everybody gets together and socialises."

Kerry added: "It's going to be devastating. There are a lot of old people that are going to miss it. Porthleven is becoming much more seasonal - there are so many shops in the village that have closed and not reopened."

Claire Polglase, from Fore Street, said it would be a "big shame" if the office closed. "The bus service into Helston is appalling. I think the elderly, particularly, would find it very difficult. I hope someone takes it on, because we really need a post office. It's one of those meeting places, especially for the elderly," she added.

Liz Lane, a self-employed antiques dealer from Kestrel Close, said that she used the post office "all the time." She said: "I will miss it because the service is really good. It's a personal service and locals need it - especially people older than myself. It's something that's going to have to be addressed somewhere along the line."

Rod Stephens, from the Porthleven Action Group, said that he had predicted such a thing would happen. He said: "I is, I'm afraid, just as I said was going to happen. It's yet another stage further for Porthleven becoming a ghost town. Everybody I have told has been totally devastated by it."