‘Maybe Inverness should lose city status’ - Reaction to threat hanging over city centre post office
City post office under threat
An Inverness city centre post office could be at risk of getting the axe. The Post Office revealed it is looking to offload 115 directly-owned branches within its 11,500-strong network, which could see them transferred to retail partners or postmasters, or potentially closed. The current Queensgate location in Inverness is one of those earmarked for closure.
“Yay, make room for another hotel.” - Donny Keith
“My concern would be our senior folk who still like to pop into a post office. Hopefully other PO hub will come available in the city centre.” - Isabelle MacKenzie
“It isn’t open as often as it used to be. Perhaps people would go if you could collect parcels from them instead of down the Longman that isn’t open past 10am.” - Karen Shane
“Maybe Inverness should lose city status. Ever since we’ve gained it, we’ve gone downhill in everything really fast!!” - Danny Young
“My bank closed and I'm having to use the post office instead. What next?” - Anne Aspinall
“The Post Office do not want directly owned outlets to keep their costs down, but franchises run by postmasters in shops etc. This has absolutely nothing to do with what the public wants/needs. After the way they treated postmasters over Horizon best of luck with that. No doubt once closed it will sit empty like the Royal Mail building at the bus station until it deteriorates into dereliction.” - Campbell Brand
“They’ve got no staff! Every time I go in, self service isn’t working, the queue is unreal waiting to post something, last time it was 30 minutes just to post a small parcel.” - Mac CJ
Appeal over battery farm rejected
An appeal to build a battery farm which was originally meant to financially benefit Inverness Caledonian Thistle has been rejected by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government rejected the appeal by Intelligent Land Investments Group PLC against the decision made by Highland Council to reject their application to build the facility at Fairways.
“I think this shows that Highland Council, albeit by unorthodox means, got the planning decision right by referring a three person ruling to the full council. There’s been a lot of confirmation bias around this scheme, with many concluding that because it was intended to make the football club a lot of money, there couldn’t therefore possibly be anything wrong with it. However I wonder what chance this ever had of making anything like the claimed £3.4 million, given the club’s three other money making schemes that also simply went up in smoke at the hands of a regime which has now been exposed as breathtakingly incompetent? And all that before we even think about their naively uncritical welcome of Ketan Makwana.” - Charles Bannerman
“Correct decision.” - Robert Coghill
“I hope that this right decision making catches on.” - Gerry Reynolds MSc
Residents lose green space battle
Dalneigh residents lost the battle to save green space in their area after councillors agreed a new housing development of eight bungalows should go ahead. Residents had submitted a number of objections to the plan for an open area between St Valery Avenue and the Caledonian Canal.
“It was always gonna be a losing battle.” - Donna Macleod Fisher
“The lack of green space in town is totally unacceptable.” - Marjory Shane
“Where are the people in these new homes going to go to school? The doctors? The chemist? Or even the dentist, and that’s before Raigmore being unfit for purpose.” - Karen Shane
Take part in Dash for cancer charity
This December marks the 10th anniversary of Sue Ryder’s December Daily Dash, a fundraising event created by my husband and I as a thank you to the wonderful Sue Ryder Nurses who cared for my dad in his last days.
We lost my dad to cancer in 2015, just 18 months after we lost my mum to the same illness.
The Sue Ryder Nurses went above and beyond to make his last days as manageable as possible. Whether it was bringing him a cosy hot chocolate before bed or making sure he was comfortable in the bath, he was given the utmost care and attention.
We wanted to give something back to say thank you for helping us through one of the most difficult times in our lives and that’s how the charity’s December Daily Dash was born.
The Sue Ryder December Daily Dash asks fundraisers to simply to walk, jog or run 1k, 3k or 5k every day this December, taking some time out for yourself while raising money for Sue Ryder’s bereavement support and palliative care, ensuring no one needs to face death or grief alone this Christmas.
Initially, it was just us joined by 11 friends – now there is a community of over 2000 people that take part in the challenge and over the past nine years, 3,500 people have covered thousands of kilometres, raising over £600,000 to support vital end of life care and grief support.
We would love if even more could join us and be part of our special tenth anniversary year, all the while improving their fitness and well-being at a time of year associated with indulgence and less healthy habits.
Whether you do it outdoors or on a treadmill, alone or with friends, family, or your furry companion, you'll be part of a supportive online community of Dashers, all committed to helping Sue Ryder support people when it matters most.
To sign up to the December Daily Dash for free, visit: decemberdailydash.com
On behalf of us and Sue Ryder, thank you.
Jackie and Mark Smith
Founders of the December Daily Dash and Sue Ryder fundraisers
Letters should be submitted to newsdesk@hnmedia.co.uk. Please include your address and a daytime contact number. You can also tweet us: @InvCourier or leave a comment on Facebook @invernesscourier
