THEN THERE WAS ONE
THE shutters will come down on what is believed to be one of the Royal Burgh’s oldest businesses, when the Station Road sub-post office closes next month.
Current postmaster Derek Wood has been behind the counter for almost two decades and is believed to have decided to call it a day.
Although Mr Wood is prohibited from speaking publicly by his contract with the Post Office, local Scottish Borders councillor Gordon Edgar (Ind), says the postmaster has simply decided it is the right time to finish.
He said: “Derek just feels it is time for a lifestyle change. For the past 19 years, he has worked 12 hours a day from six in the morning till six at night and for six days a week, and you have to admire him for sticking to that routine for so long.”
Mr Edgar agrees the sub-post office will be one of the oldest businesses in Selkirk – it is believed to have been running since the early 20th century.
“It will be a big loss to this part of the town if no-one else applies to a run a post office at that location,” Mr Edgar told The Wee Paper this week.
He added: “And it would be a loss to the town generally, as we have already lost the sub-post office at Raeburn and I think there was another in Bannerfield which also closed.
“When Derek shuts up shop next month that will just leave the main post office in the High Street.”
Mr Edgar said a letter he received from the Post Office stated that the organisation was actively looking for an alternative provider of the service.
“But whoever takes over Derek’s premises has no guarantee of automatically being awarded the sub-post office business – they would have to apply for it,” Mr Edgar added.
“It’s been a thriving business over the years, being located near the Station Hotel and just along from where the railway station itself was situated”, he said.
Mr Edgar’s fellow local councillor, Vicky Davidson (LD) commented: “It’s going to be a real loss to people who get their pensions there. I’ve been working with Douglas Scott at the council and the Post Office to identify an alternative place to house the sub-post office.”
The Post Office was unable to provide a comment before we went to press yesterday.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Selkirk
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
