In light of the sub postmaster of Port St Mary Post Office giving notice on his contract for service, Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) has held a meeting with key stakeholders that represent service users to discuss future postal services in the village, when the notice period ends on 31st January 2021.
The meeting, held last week, was the start of a formal consultation process with representatives of key stakeholder groups including constituent politicians, local government, third sector organisations and
special interest groups to gather feedback on the proposed changes, and how the changes might affect the service users they each represent. Commercial partners for whom services are provided through Port St Mary Post Office are also being consulted.
Like any service, IOMPO’s customer needs are changing and the Board advised they were considering how best to meet the current and future needs of its customers in a financially and socially responsible way. IOMPO propose not to seek a like for like replacement counter service but to find a partner in Port St Mary for parcel collection and to sell postage stamps. This reflects the changing nature of IOMPO’s products and services. Covid-19 has significantly increased the number of parcels IOMPO now handles. The parcel collection service at Calvert Newsagents is popular, and IOMPO hopes it can find a suitable replacement to continue this service in the local community.
Meanwhile the full range of postal services will continue to be available just over one mile away at Port Erin Post Office. Feedback from the stakeholder consultation will be used to inform the actual changes the Board decide are appropriate to implement.
Julie Edge MHK, Chairman of IOMPO, said: “The meeting with the stakeholders went well and we recognise that Port St Mary Commissioners will now be holding a public meeting on Monday evening to
seek the views of local residents and businesses. We welcome this dialogue, and the feedback we expect to receive from the Commissioners following the meeting.”
IOMPO wish to express its sincere thanks to the outgoing sub postmaster Jeff Calvert for his exemplary loyalty and dedication to providing postal services to customers in Port St Mary for the past nine years.
The consultation, which will end on 14th December 2020, is in line with the principles of IOMPO’s Retai Modernisation Strategy which was approved by Tynwald in October 2019.
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