Petition for Post Office counter in Oakham store

Scores of people have already signed a petition calling on the Post Office to install a counter at a convenience store on the outskirts of Oakham.

Devinder and Inderjit Gill, who own Briars Convenience Store in Churchill Road, Oakham, believe an extra counter is needed for people living in the south and west of the town.

They have twice applied to the Post Office to install a counter in their shop, but so far have been unsuccessful. So they decided to start a petition to show demand was there.

Devinder said: “Customers have been asking us to apply. We do have a lot of elderly people who rely on family to take them into town.

“We are not asking for a brand new post office; just a counter where we can get the basic transactions.”

Oakham has one Post Office branch in High Street. The branch moved from a dedicated building to Martin’s newsagents in March last year. The new location is roughly one mile from the south western outskirts of Oakham. The second nearest branch is in Langham, about two-and-a-half miles away.

Devinder and Inderjit believe a counter at Briars would make Post Offices services more accessible for a section of Oakham’s population, as well as serving outlying villages such as Braunston.

The petition is available to sign in store.

A Post Office spokesman said: “We do appreciate the interest shown by Briars Convenience store in running a Post Office.

“Unfortunately there is no existing post office vacancy nearby and currently our programme is about one-for-one replacements, not increasing the network.”