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The Post Office has confirmed that it will not deploy a mobile outreach service in Deri despite a request from the local MP and community councillors. 

Deri’s post office, which closed temporarily in 2022, will not reopen following a “comprehensive review” by the Post Office.

Cllr Robert Chapman, who represents the Darran Valley on Caerphilly County Borough Council, told Caerphilly Observer there had been an effort to get a mobile service for the community. 

He said: “I asked [if we] could have a rural-type van that would come into the village once a week – and they said no.”

Cllr Chapman said the organisation stated customers could use other branches that are close by, such as Bargoed.

He added that he was “very disappointed” in the decision, particularly for “older people or the disabled people,” adding that many would now have to rely on infrequent buses to access the service.

He continued:  “I feel sorry for people who can’t afford cars to get to these places. To do basic banking or post office.”

“Increasingly poor”

The Labour MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Gerald Jones, also contacted the Post Office to raise the issue.

He has since called the Post Office’s treatment of “isolated communities” as “increasingly poor” in the House of Commons. 

Speaking on February 8, Mr Jones said: “It is clear that the Post Office’s treatment of isolated communities is increasingly poor, and two post offices in my constituency, in Treharris and Deri, have closed, with Pantyscallog in Merthyr Tydfil closing temporarily next week. 

“Without a full consultation, we know that closures are usually permanent. 

“In terms of access for geographically isolated communities in which transport is poor and in which people have mobility issues or are elderly, not having a post office within three miles is placing services out of reach.”

Mr Jones added that he accepted there are “challenges” to running a post office and continued: “Many of the people working in our post offices have done so for many years and when they come to retirement, it really is a challenge to get people to take on those businesses.”

This is the case with the post office in Machen, which is on a list of 105 “hard to place” post office branches.

Mr Jones continued: “The communities that we have described this afternoon, geographically isolated communities and communities with public transport issues, tend have many older people who often use cash in their transactions. 

“Banking hubs are great in larger towns perhaps, but things are much more difficult in smaller, isolated communities. What other options can be considered so that those communities do not become financial deserts?”

This comes after Mr Jones stated that another town in his constituency, Rhymney, faced becoming a “financial desert” after Lloyds Bank confirmed its withdrawal of mobile banking vans.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “Deri Post Office has been closed for over a year due to the resignation of the Postmaster. Our field team visited the area on different occasions and tried to find a permanent solution.

“Regrettably, it is a challenging economic climate and we have finite funding. Therefore, we are unable to provide additional Mobile Post Office Services at this time. There are alternative branches at Bargoed and Fochriw that are both open six days a week.”