New pressure has been exerted on Post Office chiefs to restore services to Bridge of Allan after almost two years.
The Post Office in Bridge of Allan closed its doors in January 2023 after supermarket giants Morrison’s took over the McColl’s brand and embarked on a round of restructuring.
The closure attracted a strong response from politicians and community representatives keen to find a permanent solution for post office services to be re-introduced, with the community council chairman saying it had provided a “constant asset” locally.
But despite those efforts, so far no concrete offer has emerged to bring back a post office in Bridge of Allan, with people forced to travel to Causewayhead or Cornton to do their business.
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane MSP Keith Brown has re-ignited calls for the Post Office to do more over the situation.
Mr Brown said: “I was told by the Post Office in the summer that, whilst some initial interest for opening a post office in Bridge of Allan had been received, no applications were progressed for a variety of reasons.
“I noted then that there was an intention to re-advertise the opportunity.
“Disappointingly, we are now well over a year and a half on from when the Post Office shut, and Bridge of Allan is still without local post office services.
“I have written again to Post Office Ltd, seeking an update on their efforts to secure Post Office provision for Bridge of Allan and any interest which has been shown.
“I want to hear from the Post Office exactly what steps are being taken to encourage individuals or businesses to consider this important role.
“The Post Office have a duty to be pro-active on this. It is simply not good enough to sit back in hope, waiting for someone to come forward.
“Meanwhile, if there is anyone interested in taking on the opportunity of running a Post Office in Bridge of Allan they should check out the website runapostoffice.co.uk.”
Mr Brown had previously grilled Mark Gibson from the Post Office alongside then Stirling MP Alyn Smith over future plans for provision within Bridge of Allan, with issues including the sending of letters and the removal of services including currency exchange raised.
In response, a Post Office spokeswoman told the Observer: “We are still keen to restore Post Office services to the Bridge of Allan as we know how important a Post Office is to a community.
“The vacancy is currently advertised at runapostoffice.co.uk/branch/bridge-of-allan-post-office-stirling-fk9-4ex.
“There has been interest expressed, but none of the interested retailers had suitable premises.
“In the meantime, alternative branches include Causewayhead and Cornton.”