The gradual closure of most High Street banking services in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone has been a source of dismay to those who like to see the whites of their bank clerk’s eyes when making a transaction, be it large or small.
We are fortunate in Brentwood to still have the services of Lloyds, Nat West, an expanded Nationwide, and several building societies on the High Street, but services in Ingatestone and Shenfield have been moved by several of the larger banks to Post Offices.
Sadly, in both of those High Streets, even the Post Office has been struggling. There’s been good news this week in that Ingatestone Post Office, which was taken over by a very efficient temporary Postmaster in recent months, has found new premises in Ingatestone Library, which will be a great relief to many living in the village.
Shenfield Post Office, which closed when one of the Morrisons branches closed unexpectedly almost a year ago, is still waiting for a new home and postmaster. I’ve been in touch with Post Office Limited on a regular basis, and have suggested ideas for new premises in the area.
I understand from Post office Limited that new premises have recently been identified and they will be reviewed with the new applicant shortly, to assess if they are suitable. If the applicant can proceed with a viable business proposal at this location, they will submit a formal application for Shenfield Post Office, and if successful we will all get an update with the details of the new branch.
I know how important it is for local people to be able to personally visit a location to carry out transactions, and not have to rely on a plethora of PIN numbers and two factor authentications to allow a chatbot to identify you, so will update my constituents as soon as any news is available.
