Badgers Mount Post Office

Most residents now know that Brian and Pauline Butler have, with regret, decided to close down their whole business following a second robbery in 3 weeks. It is sad that after nearly 80 years of use, criminals have caused this closure. The Association wish Brian and Pauline well for their future.

In order to clarify some of the rumours and give some assistance we outline below information we have obtained so far.

(1) Because the business is closed, the frontage of the shop is now a private garden which is why the telephone and letter boxes are closed. We will urge BT and Royal Mail to relocate these as soon as possible.
UPDATE - email received from BT - 24/2/2004:
As formal notice of recovery has today been posted in the box a copy of which will be sent to Shoreham Parish Council and Sevenoaks District Council. Having assessed the usage of this payphone, taking into account the type of area it now serves we are not proposing to install a replacement kiosk.
I realise this is likely to disappoint the residents, but as virtually all of them appear to have private phones and with the increasing usage of mobile phones it is simply not viable for us re-site the service, which would have to be replaced with a modern kiosk. For passing traffic there are kiosks fairly close in each direction at Knockholt Station and the Polhill Arms.
If members of your committee and residents in general wish to make any comments or express concern then please do contact our customer service team on 0800 66 16 10.

(2) All PO business has been transferred to Halstead PO, which carries out the same services as Badgers Mount PO did.

Pension, benefits etc., payments can now be collected from Halstead PO. It is NOT necessary to get the books changed, and this will not affect the option of making a limited number of withdrawals from other POs. When books come for renewal, new books reflecting the new paying office will be sent to that PO. If you want to permanently transfer to any other PO, there is a simple form obtainable from the PO that you wish to use. All other PO services - National Savings, banking, mail needing weighing etc. can be carried out at any PO.
Mail collections - the only letter box available at present is the small box in Badgers Road.
PO Help line: 08457 22 33 44.

(3) Papers - Hancocks in Halstead have increased the number of papers they obtain for sale over the counter, but will not be able to take over the delivery rounds. Some groups of neighbours have organised a rota for collection of papers etc to economise on costs.

(4) Milk - Dairy Crest deliver milk around Badgers Mount on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from their Church Road, Orpington Depot. Tel. 01689 827511. Bread, eggs etc. can be ordered.

(5) Transport - Please be aware of neighbours who do not have their own transport, and who may otherwise have to resort to expensive taxis. In order to assist those having transport difficulties, we propose keeping a list of people who can help providing transport so that we can match the needs of those without their own. If, say, you go to Sainsburys, Tesco, Orpington etc. regularly each week and would be prepared to assist please let either Gordon Plumb (534279) or Tracey McCartney (534471) know.

(6) Memorial Hall bookings - for the time being, Derek Herritage (534538) has taken over the Hall bookings. This will be reviewed at/after the Memorial Hall AGM on 1st April.

(7) The opening hours of the Halstead shops are:-
 

Post Office -		Hancocks -
Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri: Wednesday: Saturday:	0900 to 1300 & 1400 to 1630 0900 to 1300 only 0900 to 1230	Mon to Sat: Sunday:	0600 to 1700 0600 to 1200

(8) The future - The Committee think it would be a shame not to have a local PO. In order to gauge initial opinion as to whether it is worth pursuing this with Post Office Ltd, could you please complete the slip at the bottom of this Newsletter (printed copy delivered to all residents) and return it to any of the Residents Association or Neighbourhood Watch Committee members, or leave in the Memorial Hall letter box by Monday 23rd February. Alternatively, some of the Committee members will be in the Memorial Hall from 1130 on Saturday 21st February prior to WPC Jackie Allen, our Community Police Officer, holding her second monthly Police Surgery from 12.30 to 1.30.

If there is sufficient interest in keeping a Post Office, we will call a special meeting for you to air your views further. Due to Hall availability, the earliest this could be is Friday 27th February. Watch the notice boards for details.