ANGRY Eldene residents gathered at the Morrisons superstore at Dorcan House today to protest about the future of their post office.

Organised by Eldene Residents’ Association (ERA), the group stood in force at the empty unit near Morrisons, where they had hoped Post Office would set up shop.

However, as the months have dragged on and the search for a new retailer to take on the franchise has stalled, it has looked more and more likely the post office may miss out on that location.

Mike Davies, secretary of ERA, said: “If there’s no resolution quickly, it’s likely there wouldn’t be a resolution in the long-term.

“It’s the only option. There are no other retail areas it could fit into in Eldene, not since the hub’s been demolished.”

The St Joseph’s Catholic College teacher. said he has been led to believe retailers such as Subway are looking at the remaining unit, which stands next to a fish and chip shop and bookmaker.

There has been long-held unhappiness in the community, he said, when it was announced Eldene’s retail centre would be demolished, including Martin’s, the newsagents which previously housed the post office.

Residents had been told there would only be a short-term gap in post office provision from April while its future was decided, but there is a risk this may become a terminal problem.

The latest development, Mike said, centres around the size of the post office the interested parties want.

While Post Office wants to open up a small operation, propped up by a retailer of some kind, others interested in taking on the franchise would only do so with a bigger postal hub, which offers more services and generates more business.

“The problem there is the type, which means that the people that were interested in running a shop there alongside it, can’t make it viable just a small post office,” said Mike.

“It looks, at the moment, like there’s not going to be a post office there at all.”

The initial concern built because of the wealth of care homes and elderly people in Eldene, who do not have access to transport, or the ability to walk very far for vital services, including their pensions.

Currently, anyone looking to use a post office from Eldene must travel to Covingham, Parks or Liden.

“It’s all happened at quite an interesting time because people used to take the number 20 bus up to Covingham, but now that’s stopped it’s become a double whammy,” said Mike.

“There are buses around to Liden people are getting, but it means paying a lot of money for a short trip, or there’s a long walk over to Parks.

“It’s been a difficult few months. I know a few people who don’t have the transport needed to get around.”