A TWYFORD councillor has criticised the Post Office after the village was left without a service for 10 days.
Services have been moved from Day Lewis Chemists in London Road to the Bargain Booze store next door.
But due to problems with the fitting of the new facilities, there was a gap between the closure of the old Post Office on Saturday, July 22 with the opening of the new, which took place yesterday afternoon.
Cllr Lindsay Ferris, the Liberal Democrat leader who represents the village said that the move includes extended opening times for residents, but it was “clearly a commercial decision” to move the site.
He said that a number of residents had contacted him concerned about the move.
In a letter to The Wokingham Paper, he said: “It is extremely disappointing to find that when the old Post Office in Day Lewis closed on Saturday, July 22, the new Post Office in Bargain Booze was not available and has still not opened due to the non delivery/provision of cable links and other facilities.
“It is totally unacceptable for there to be a near two week gap between the closure of the old post office in the Day Lewis Chemists and the new one. It is unfortunate that the facilities were not completed on time to ensure a smooth transfer. In addition it is somewhat annoying that the old Post Office was not kept open (pro-tem) until the new one was available.
“It means that residents and businesses in Twyford have been without a Post Office which has caused annoyance and inconvenience.”
But the Post Office said that the lack of service was caused because a leaving date had been agreed with the previous Postmaster before it emerged that the work would take longer than expected.
A spokesperson said: “When we re-locate branches we do try to provide a seamless transfer, but unfortunately this was not possible on this occasion because preparation work at the new convenience store took longer than expected.
“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by the temporary closure of the branch.
“Very soon the branch will be opened seven days a week and customers will benefit from an extra 51 hours of service a week.
“Customers have been able to use a number of alternative branches during the closure including Charvil, Hurst, Upper Wargrave, Brecon Road and Waltham St Lawrence for the majority of Post Office services or Woodley or Reading branches for the full range of services.”
