Devon: Post Office and bank hub to help remote communities

The new building was opened on Friday

A new hub for Post Office, banking and library services has opened in a town.

The former post office in Ashburton, Devon is being used along with a mobile van that takes some of the services to more remote Dartmoor communities.

The building is called the Hub, with the van being called the Spoke.

The Hub will provide a full Post Office service, the town's library, give access to banking services and the building will be a safe and inclusive space for groups to meet.

There are also plans to install a solar panel on the roof of the van

The Spoke is predominantly a mobile Post Office, and will travel to villages across Dartmoor that no longer have their own.

It will also offer a publicly available internet access point for people to use council services and make medical appointments.

The last bank in Ashburton closed in 2016.

Stuart Rogers is the postmaster in Ashburton

Postmaster Stuart Rogers said: "Whilst the Post Office can do a lot of things, if you want interaction with a real person, you have to go off Dartmoor and go to Totnes, Plymouth, Exeter or Newton Abbot.

"If you are further afield on Dartmoor you are even more isolated. We want to use this facility to get somebody in front of a real trusted individual to get the support and help they need."

The ribbon was cut by local MP Mel Stride who said many high street banks had closed because of changing trends.

He said: "We have to accept that the world moves on.

"We have got more digital payments that are being made, people will handle money in different ways, if you take the banking part of the equation.

"But what the government has been really, really firm on is supporting post offices."

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