1,000 sign up to post office fight

CALLS for a new post office to serve a community in Exeter are growing louder – with almost 1,000 already signed up for the campaign.

The strength of feeling was fully evident as scores of residents braved the freezing conditions to wave banners outside the proposed site of the post office at the Londis store in Sylvania Drive.

Staff are calling on the Post Office to allow them to run it from the store to serve the community of Pennsylvania, which currently has no local provision.

The petition, which has been running for just a few weeks, is rapidly approaching 1,000 signatures.

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And those residents who took part in the protest said it was a community facility that was desperately needed.

Resident Jenni Murone was among them. She said: "I am old and live alone and can't walk halfway across Exeter to get to a post office.

"It would mean a lot to me personally if we could get one here."

Laura Hawkins, also of Pennsylvania, said: "There are a lot of older people around here who cannot get to a post office. If there was one here they could walk there on their own. It is desperately needed."

Another resident, Ray Hawkins, added: "There are no parking provisions at the existing post offices and no local provision whatsoever around here. We fully support the campaign."

Valerie Joslin, who lives close to the store, said: "The nearest post offices have all closed and there are an enormous number of homes around here which would benefit from having one here."

And Lilian Lovell, who also lives nearby, added: "A post office here will serve so many people. The locals will use it and it will become a real community."

Francis Hallam, a member of staff at Londis who is leading the campaign, said: "It is good to see so many people turn out on such a cold day, and so many councillors supporting us.

"Trying to contact anyone within the Post Office is like trying to identify an insect on a star, but we will keep the pressure on and they can be in no doubt about how the community feels."

Several councillors, including Percy Prowse, Jake Donovan and Tim Payne, attended the protest.

Cllr Payne said: "I have been shopping here for 20 years and there is no post office to cater for this area.

"The strength of feeling for this in the area is evident by today's turnout

"There is a real cross-section of the community here today, which is excellent to see."