A CONSULTATION has been launched into the closure of a village Post Office near Ludlow.

It has emerged that the Post Office had rejected the option of moving the Post Office from the village shop to the nearby Food Centre.

The Post Office is being closed because it is not financially viable and its trading has been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

Post Office Limited has launched a consultation on the closure of Bromfield Post Office which is to close on Monday, August 31.

The consultation letter says that the closure is temporary but gives no information on what moves the Post Office is making to ensure continuity or reinstate services at Bromfield.

A working group set up by Bromfield Parish Council is making enquiries about setting up an outreach service to serve residents for a few hours a week.

The closure of the post office is a blow to many people used it. Customers do not just live in Bromfield. They come from Craven Arms, Onibury, Culmington, Stanton Lacey and Ludlow.

There was a zoom meeting in the middle of last month to consider options.

Following this, Bromfield Parish Council agreed to establish a small working group to look at the future of post office services in the Bromfield area.

This follows a decision by Ludlow Farmshop to close the loss making Post office and Village Shop from the end of August.

The meeting heard of the importance of the post office service not just to the residents of Bromfield but to people in surrounding parishes, Ludlow and Craven Arms.

A representative of the estate indicated it would not have closed had Post Office Counters had provided financial support for a move into the Farmshop. Plymouth Estate was open to hosting the post office in the future if a way forward could be found.

The meeting discussed having an outreach post office service until a long term arrangement could be put in place. A working group has been set up to look at this and the parish clerk is in discussions with the Post Office.