Work to revamp Caerphilly town Post Office will begin on Monday June 2.
The new-look branch, in WHSmith in Castle Court Shopping Centre, will open at 11am on Sunday June 8.
Post Office WHS Account Manager, John Dutton, said: “I am delighted to announce that we are to transform our Caerphilly branch into one of our new main style Post Offices.
“We understand how important having a Post Office is to residents in the town and we are confident that this new modern Post Office service will meet the needs of the local community.”
The branch will remain open as normal for customers during the revamp which is part of a wider refurbishment programme.
When I read this article I thought for a moment we were being taken back in time to the Old Post Office at The Twyn.
I
had absolutely forgotten that the town has a post office counter in
Smiths newsagents. I have never been in there, on the very rare
occasions I HAVE to use a post office counter I use Llanbradach or at
the Cwrt Rawlin.
And I think the story has very little or no
public interest in our town, and I fail to see how it has any interest
whatsoever to anyone outside the town.
Now the Rough Sleepers in the town, and the lack of proper provision for them is another matter.
It
appears that the Caerphilly CBC are taking very little consideration of
the needs of this group of people, all of whom are Caerphilly Borough
Citizens, Caerphilly Council and their ` Partner agencies` ( whoever
they may be) have charged the Gwent Police in the Town to ` move em
on`. I know most Police Officers, ( with a sensible and reasonable mind
of their own) are very uncomfortable with that task, and, unless these
people are committing a criminal offence they are reluctant to carry out
the dictate of a faceless group of individuals sitting in the Council
Offices who tell them to jump and normally they say ” how high”, The
Caerphilly Council have a responsobility to the Rough Sleeper Community
because they are tax paying citizens of the Borough, they pay tax on
any benefits they get, ( some dont claim) they pay VAT like everyone
else on things they purchase, and so far as I can observe they dont
break the law, they may offend by their presence in the town, but that
is a failure of the authorities in Caerphilly to provide shelter and a
place of safety for those who are homeless and sick, they happen to be
homeless, some of them happen to have other problems, and one or two of
them are quite ill.
Now this is an issue of public interest but even this `serious` news media is ignoring the problem.
Two
of the more `Educated` homeless rough sleepers have now legally
occupied the old school buildings in Park Lane Caerphilly, the next
move, before, a Judge, is when I am told these two people intend to sit
before the court and explain the position of homeless rough sleeper in
the town and ask the judge to make an order compelling Caerphilly
Council and their ` partners` to provide for them.
More
Ratepayers money wasted simply because of the lack of proactivity on the
part of the Authorites, disgraceful indictment of Caerphilly County
Borough Council`s attitude to this sub-community of human beings.
Interesting comment. It misses the important point though. Why are they homeless? The causes need to be tackled first. Blaming the council for being slow to act is not the cause. How did they become to be in this position where they are non-contributing citizens of Caerphilly? (Contribution being a net contribution. The rest is similar to a rebate of sorts for the state)
The council, being the responsible authority on homelessness, and, being the responsible authority on other social issues suffered as a result of poverty, and, the lack of policy and processes, to tackle the issue of rough sleepers, does nothing to ease the problem in Caerphilly borough Council area.
Other authorities in Wales have made proper provision for what has become `sub culture communities in their areas, Caerphilly appears to have done nothing except attempt to use the Police jackboot to deal with the `problem`, that has failed to work for a number of complicated reasons, which, those in authority should have foreseen but either did not foresee it or were so arrogant to the problem that they thought nobody would notice.
With regard to the view that the Council are not responsible for the `cause` of these homeless people in our town, I would disagree in some cases.
AT LEAST four of the Rough Sleepers are residents and citizens of Caerphilly, the fact is that they were ` displaced` by the council to other areas, this was done by offering them shelter if they jumped through hoops as rough sleepers for six weeks before the offer of shelter was made, they conformed with the requirements of the Council and were housed, again for reasons of poor management by Caerphilly council of the process, each of the rehomed rough sleepers racked up debts because of single sleepers being placed in two bedroom accommodation and not being able to pay the bedroom tax on the second bedroom, another individual who lived in Caerphilly prior to being moved on had suffered an horrific assault on him, shattering bone in his face, IN THE LOCATION THEY MOVED HIM BACK TOO.The person who assualted him still lived there and is due to stand trial in early June. This individual is terrified of the person and his family but the Council feel they have undertaken their responsibility to him.
So, the causes and the solution are complex, but, Dean, yes in some cases the Council are responsible as the cause, they are certainly responsible for the `effect`. It is a disgrace that for a week, all emails and messages on the subject to the following remain unacknowledged:-
Cabinet Members of Caerphilly Council.
The Gwent Police commissioner ( Who has a responsibility for the way Gwent Police figure in the process).
The Council- seeking information on what provision are made for these citizens in Caerphilly?.
Wayne David MP
Jeff Cuthbert AM for Caerphilly, Who happens to be the Minister for Wales responsible for tracking poverty.
Rob Owen, of the Welsh Assembly Government the Officer responsible in Wales for Rough sleepers.
People who have responded, and to whom I am grateful for their involvement are:-
Lorrain Bottomly. Deputy Chief Constable Gwent Police. Who has passed the issue to Local Police commanders.
Stuart Rosser Interim Chief Executive of Caerphilly Council.
But, no-one has provided any substantive information or explained the process of what provisions are being made for Rough Sleepers in Caerphilly or, what action they propose to take to deal with `The Problem` I have to say I do not view it as a problem, the problem is that the authorities are not dealing with it with any professionalism and compassion and good governance.
I would argue the biggest problem is not local but a national problem which all political parties like to ignore. For decades funding has been cut on helping people learn a skill or trade. People don’t have the skills and can’t have the higher paid jobs. We end up relying on skilled immigrants then.
Once the education system has been dramatically overhauled and we aren’t set on sending everyone to university (there’s no shame in going to a technical college to take practical courses) there will be a more diverse workforce with a larger skill set. They won’t end up homeless then. A more stable chilhood is more likely to lead to a more stable and amicable adulthood. Reversing the current tide of homeless is impossible. It can be eased but not fixed.
I agree with you. Telling the homeless to move one doesn’t help the problem neither does having the state fund homes for them. Reintroduce the workhouse albeit with nice conditions and send them there.The homeless people we see, apart from drug addicts and criminals, are the failings of ineffective government policy and part of a generation that has been written off.
Interesting how this conversation has gone off on a tangent! Looking at Caerphilly’s post office, I suspect our local bank branches will also suffer the same point at some stage with them being restricted to a concession in Asda or Tesco.
Why Not?????
I have no problem with the banks moving into the supermarkets especially if they open longer hours, which could mean more employment opportunities for locals, and be more convenient for customers. As long as they don’t withdraw services. My concern is what will replace the banks on Cardiff Road – more charity shops and bookies?