A councillor has called on Renfrewshire Council to work with villagers to help maintain a post office in Lochwinnoch.
Owners of the Spar convenience store, CJ Lang, announced earlier this month it will close the Lochwinnoch branch which operates out of its shop.
The closure will come in October, meaning villagers will be forced to travel to the nearest branches in Beith and Dalry in North Ayrshire - which has no direct public transport links to Lochwinnoch.
Councillor Andy Doig, seconded by Councillor Eileen McCartin, has lodged a motion at tomorrow's full council meeting calling on bosses to work with ward councillors and Lochwinnoch Community Council.
It reads: "Renfrewshire Council deeply regrets the impending closure of Lochwinnoch Post Office in October, and resolves to continue to work with Lochwinnoch Community Council and local ward Councillors to identify options to help maintain a Post Office presence in the village.
"Council deplores the wider problem of corporate financial interests, be it banks or the Post Office, abandoning communities across Renfrewshire, both rural and urban, which especially marginalises and excludes those without private transport, the elderly, those on low incomes, or the digitally disadvantaged.
"Council calls on the Scottish Government to initiate discussions with the Scottish League of Credit Unions, to examine the viability of a Scottish Credit Bank, which can reconcile the demand for profit with the priority to serve communities."
Alan Bissett, chair of Lochwinnoch Community Council, said the news was a blow to the community. "We're very disappointed the post office is closing as it is important for a lot of people in the village, especially older people and those who run small businesses," he said.
"We have been in touch with the post office and they've said they'll try and come up with something but it's been a bit vague, we don't know what that is yet.
"I did look into alternative arrangements when this closure plan came up before but setting up a community post office just isn't viable and could take away from businesses which already exist in the village.
"We're not sure what the future will look like but we're in touch with the post office and will see what they come up with."
Lochwinnoch post office is part of 31 across Scotland inside Spar stores which will close.
Colin McLean, CEO of CJ Lang, said: “This decision has been carefully considered and comes after 18 months of negotiations with Post Office Limited.
“It is unfortunate that we find ourselves in the position of having to change the services we offer.
“Unfortunately, it is not viable for us to continue to offer the service at this site.
“Staffing numbers will be unaffected within the store.
“This is representative of the industry-wide pressures on retail outlets as we evolve to keep up with consumer habits.”
Lochwinnoch Post Office will close on October 21. No jobs will be lost as a result of the closure.
