Heart of community is being ‘torn out’ of our village

  • The loss of a post office and bank have ripped the heart out of St Aubin’s community, claim business owners
  • Natwest Bank shut last year and now a food store is to be replaced by Costa Coffee
  • Is St Aubin losing its character? Take our poll below

A BUSINESSWOMAN in St Aubin claims the heart of the community has been ‘torn out’ following the loss of its bank and post office.

The NatWest bank on the corner of the main road shut at the end of last year and the post office within the Foodhall closed at the weekend and is due to be replaced by a Costa Coffee.

SandpiperCI said the post office was no longer commercially viable.

  • Sandpiper CI currently has six Costa Coffee outlets in the Channel Islands.
  • It has four stores in Jersey and two in Guernsey.
  • The Jersey stores are based at Bath Street, Liberty Wharf, Queen Street and York Street.
  • Its Guernsey stores are at Commercial Arcade and Le Pollet.
  • The first store in Jersey was at Liberty Wharf, which opened in November 2010.
  • Jersey’s newest store opened in York Street in May 2014[/breakout]

On Tuesday, a number of business owners and residents claim the closures have damaged the community and particularly affected the more elderly residents.

Phyllis Pallot, who used to run Portside Studio salon and is now opening a café in the premises, said she was concerned by the loss of the post office.

‘It’s going to be a terrible loss for the older people in the village,’ she said. ‘The loss of the bank was felt by a lot of the residents and with the post office going too it’s tearing the heart out of the community.’

She suggested that St Brelade parish hall should accommodate the post office instead, as a similar scheme had worked in Trinity.

Meanwhile, Mary Michael, co-owner of Bracewell’s restaurant, said that St Aubin needed a ‘bank, post office and pharmacy’ to make it complete.

She said that ‘the loss of the post office and the bank does not help locals or tourists’, and added that while she respected Costa Coffee’s decision to move in, she still felt that the new outlet was unnecessary as there are ‘already numerous places in St Aubin to have a coffee and a snack’.

The closure of the post office comes after a year of disruption for businesses and residents caused by a major roadworks project and refurbishment of the surrounding area.

David Leedham, owner of Lovejoy’s Antiques and Collectables, said: ‘Do we need another coffee outlet?

‘They are investing all this money into the village but first they closed the bank and now we are losing the post office. I’m not happy.’

Adrian Rivett of Matisse Hair and Beauty thought the loss of the post office could damage local businesses and criticised the lack of parking in the village.

Adrian Rivett of Matisse Hair and Beauty

‘We business people need to use the post office here and we can’t anymore,’ he said. ‘Now we have to drive to a bank or a post office. On top of that we have no parking spaces in the village.

‘And I don’t have time to drink coffee because I’m too busy.’

Margie Holland-Prior of the St Aubin’s Residents Association said that the loss of the post office was ‘extremely sad’.

‘The closure is like losing a limb.

‘I understand that the post office is not a viable commercial option on its own but we shall miss it very much.’

She added: ‘We don’t need another coffee shop – it doesn’t add anything to the community. We have at least 12 places in St Aubin where you can get a cup of coffee already.’

Months worth of roadworks in St Aubin led to a row breaking out in August, with some traders threatening to withhold their parish rates because of summer roadworks. A number of business owners in the village say they lost thousands of pounds because of the roadworks, which went on throughout the holiday season. Traders then became so frustrated with the ongoing roadworks that they started filming the workmen in action and posting it on social media.

Roadworks bring disruption to St AubinJeanette Matson at the temporary post office at Trinity parish hall

In 2012, the then Constable of Trinity arranged for the parish hall to be used as a temporary post office after the unexpected closure of a local shop.

It was open for nearly two years and was a popular service with parishioners. The post office was created in what was previously a waiting room, and was open every weekday from 10 am until 2 pm.

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