VILLAGERS are urged to use Dobcross’s last shop and Post Office or risk losing both.
On the second anniversary of taking over both entities, postmaster Brian Hodgkinson has confirmed he may call time on his “social experiment” due to falling trade.
Brian says shop turnover is 50 percent down on 12 months ago, exacerbated by low income from the Post Office due to working on a commission-only basis.
He’s calculated even if all the 600 plus households in Dobcross spent £5 per week, it would still only represent the minimum level of turnover needed to subsidise the Post Office side of the business.
Brian confirmed he must sell £100 worth of first class stamps to earn just £6. Or earn half that from the same spend on second class stamps.
In an open letter to villagers Brian, 78, said: “Please remember a village without a Post Office/shop loses a part of its identity.
“It should therefore be supported continually, not just used and to some extent abused, during a pandemic or other emergency.
“In reality, we are very appreciative of a faithful core group of customers who each spend far more than £5 per week with us.
“The flip side is a significant proportion of village residents have never set foot in the shop. Or seem to appear around Christmas time to buy stamps etc.
“Possibly this group would be the most disgruntled to turn up one day to buy a stamp or collect mail that could not be delivered by the posties, to find the premises are no longer open.
“So, the findings of my social experiment to date is that in a village such as Dobcross, the Post Office as a stand-alone entity is not viable based on the current remuneration. There is no prospect of that system changing significantly in the near future.
“On the other hand, if a younger, multi-generational family owned the business and where each family member took turns in the shop, a different conclusion may be reached, as in this case, there would be no need to employ other staff.
“We haven’t yet decided how much further to take our experiment.
“But as I reach my 79th birthday later this year, I have to be realistic and question for how much longer I am able to or actually want to continue.”
Brian and wife Andjelka stepped in to save the Post Office from closure in 2019 determining to “give it a go for a couple of years and discover whether or not the Dobcross community would provide the support needed to ensure the long-term future of the business.”
Never wanting to be known as “the folk who allowed the last shop in Dobcross to close” Brian fears that might now become reality.
