Penarth postmaster fears for future of town's post office

The post office on Glebe Street sat in amongst the likes of Crepe Escape, takeaways and Penarth’s Labour Club, always seems busy, however it might not be busy enough to secure its future, that is the fears of postmaster Sajaad Yasin.

Mr Yasin sat down with Penarth Times and spoke about his fears for the Post Office service in Penarth.

“Our post office could be at threat,” said Mr Yasin. “Post Office monitor the footfall and this post office will be re-evaluated in the next six months. If not enough people use it, if the numbers do not stack up, there is a risk of losing us.”

Mr Yasin says the fortunes of Penarth’s post office are closely linked to the fortunes of the town’s high street, something he feels is not doing well at the moment.

“You can see the town is declining with the amount of premises shutting,” said Mr Yasin.

“The business rates are still too high for this area. There needs to be more done to entice businesses in.”

His opinion comes in the wake of shop owners like Gifts @ Number 9 Cathy Evans describing Penarth’s high street as ‘in transition’, and owners of the Posh Fish and Chip Company believing Penarth’s high street is still strong – despite them closing their shop.

When we asked Post Office about their plans for the branch in Penarth they made no mention of closing concerns, describing Penarth’s post office as ‘ideally placed’.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “Penarth Post Office is at the heart of the community and it is ideally placed to meet the needs of the town and outlying areas.

“The branch is run by an independent postmaster, which means that he runs his own retail business. He is therefore reliant on customers to support his business.”

Sajaad Yasin feels the town's high street is in decline (Image: Newsquest)

In January, Mr Yasin came out fighting for Penarth’s post office when the Post Office scandal was at its zenith in the wake of ITV show Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

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Now, he’s fighting to drum up business for a part of the Post Office many people might not know exists.

Penarth’s post office is described as a ‘banking hub’. With the closure of high street banks, the post office can be used in their place to withdraw and deposit money to nearly all high street banks.

“Come with your debit card,” said Mr Yasin. “Everything you can do at the bank you can do here.”

Despite this additional service, Mr Yasin says Post Office trade is currently so low the retail side of the business is subsidising post office services.

“This shows how low Post Office business is over the counter right now,” said Mr Yasin.

Post Office insist Mr Yasin and his team are doing a great job for Penarth.

“The postmaster and his team are providing a first-class service,” added the Post Office spokesperson.

What do you think about the post office in Penarth? Do you use its banking services? Did you know it had banking services?

What do you think of the town’s high street? Is Mr Yasin right, or is the town ‘in transition’?

Let us know in comments, on our Facebook page or email harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.

Got a story in Penarth? Email harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk?