A survey of Ottery St Mary residents indicates that many are still not happy with local Post Office services, and there’s a high demand for a banking hub.

Ottery Town Council ran an online poll on Post Office and banking services in November. The council was aware of dissatisfaction with the Post Office facilities in the One Stop shop which took over from McColls in June. Residents said the opening hours of the counter were irregular because of trained staff not always being available, and there was no topping-up service for electricity meters because of damage to the phone lines during the shop refurbishment.

The results of the survey showed that nearly 60 per cent of respondents thought the Post Office facilities provided a ‘positive experience’ and 30 per cent said the service had improved in recent weeks. However, 30 per cent said they had waited at least 10 minutes to be served, and 21 per cent said they were not happy with the service they received.

The Post Office had promised improvements in October, after being contacted by the Herald. A spokesperson said there had been additional staff training, enabling the counter to operate from 8am until 8pm, and the pay-station service would be reinstated as soon as possible.

But comments submitted to the survey suggested that the problems had not yet been resolved. One person said: “The counter has not been open when it should have been, meaning that I have had to make repeated special visits to the shop to gain access to the services. I dread to think what it's going to be like coming up to the Christmas period. One counter is too small for the size of Ottery.” 

Another respondent highlighted issues with access and privacy: “Ottery St Mary One Stop is not easily accessible. I walk with a stick, and it is completely the wrong end of town for me, and close parking is limited. The pavement is too narrow and there is nowhere for other pedestrians to stand over without stepping out into the road. The post office counter at the front of the shop is not private and often manned only by someone also working on the tills.” 

The survey also asked people about the provision of ATMs (cashpoint machines). Ninety per cent of respondents said they used the ATM at Sainsburys and some said there were times when none of the machines were working. There was dissatisfaction that Ottery does not have a single bank branch any more.

A typical comment was: “No bank presence is ridiculous in a town with growing population and quite an elderly demographic who can only use unreliable public transport. The needs of the population are not being met in any way, shape or form.” 

The town council said Ottery and East Devon District Councillor Vicky Johns is continuing to liaise with LINK regarding the possibility of opening a banking hub in the town.  She said: “The poll is encouraging showing the Post Office improving, but there still needs work to be done on training, access and availability of services.

“I will continue my efforts to get LINK to provide a banking hub for Ottery as there is obvious demand from residents to continue having banking facilities locally in town.”