Bodham and Beckham Community Shop Project

Newsletter 1 – The Post Office
Dear Residents of West Beckham, East Beckham and Bodham,
It is exciting to let you know in this first newsletter of the Bodham and Beckham Community Shop Project to report that the ‘Post Office’ have agreed to carry out a viability study about the introduction of a permanent Post Office in Bodham.
So the aim of this newsletter is to let the residents of our villages know about how they could play a role in helping us to achieve this goal. Many of you have said that having a permanent ‘Post Office’ in Bodham is sadly missed. Though we have a ‘two hour’ slot once a week visit from the Budgens – Aylsham Mobile Post Office, our residents overwhelmingly told us in the ‘Community Shop Project Survey’ that they would like the shop to have a Post Office.
This goal is by no means easy to achieve. We need your support and help. It is pleasing to report that we are gathering support from our local politicians and our MP who have written letters of support for the reinstatement of a Post Office Service as part of the Community Shop.
• One way you can help is to……….
• Use the ‘Mobile Post Office’ which is sited in the Bodham Village Hall Car Park every Tuesday from 12.30 – 2.30. On Tuesday 8th December there was encouraging feedback from our residents who went to the Mobile Post Office. They said the numbers were pleasing and they had to queue. One resident said………….
‘I’ve used the Mobile Post Office for ages, but never had to queue’.
Please remember that although this is a valuable service to have, it is limiting in its offer to many of our residents. Please keep using the ‘Mobile Post Office’, this will help. These numbers will help us to persuade the Post Office of the needs of not only the villages of Bodham, East and West Beckham, but also other villages including Gresham, Baconsthorpe, Plumstead, Sustead and Weybourne. The Bodham Post Office being the closest to these villages would potentially serve an estimated population of 2320 as their closest permanent Post Office.
• Another way to help is to write a letter to………
Mr Matthew R Hatfull, Network Provision Lead, East Anglia, 2nd Floor, Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London. EC2Y 9AQ
• Or if you would rather send an e-mail [Mr Hatfull could well be working from home because of COVID 19]
His e-mail address is
matthew.r.hatfull@ postoffice.co.uk
• We are aware that this may take more time, but to help please turn over the page to find some points that you may find helpful to include in the letter. Please don’t think you have to use them all and please change to your style of writing.
• If you would like any extra help in supporting the project please get in touch with:-
Callum Ringer - e-mail - callumringer@yahoo.co.uk – Mobile No. - 07824381519
Tracey Toyn - e-mail – tracy.t@tiscali.co.uk – Mobile No. – 07733 039433
Roger Ward – e-mail - rogerward2@btinternet.com – Mobile No. - 07762597806

• Possible ideas for the letter to Matthew Hatfull

• Bodham and Beckham were served by a full-time post office service for well over a century before the closure of the village shop in 2014. Until not long before closure, the village was home to a thriving Post Office and shop which employed several staff from the community.

• Since then, the village has been served by a post office van, for just 2 hours per week. Tuesday’s 12.30 – 2.30. This limited service is used by the community but is not at a time most convenient to use by those in employment.

• In a recent survey of residents, it was demonstrated that the provision of a post office was the most sought after service requested by residents in the community. It is also worth noting that, because of the pandemic restrictions, much of this polling was done online, which meant that a preponderance of respondents were in the younger age bracket,
whereas, if other villages are anything to go by, the post office customer base tends towards the older
age groups.  This suggests that the demand is likely to be even broader than these figures suggest.  

• Since the closure of the Post Office in Bodham, there have been numerous bank branch closures in local towns; therefore, the Post Office banking requirement is likely to be greater than it was previously.

• Bodham’s Post Office would represent the closest post office branch to three significant and expanding holiday sites: Breck Farm, Kelling Heath, and Woodlands. During the season, this would increase the population within a mile of the shop by several thousand.

• The Bodham & Beckham Community Shop Project expects to match if not exceed demand reached in the previous full-time post office.

• The full-time population of our communities has increased since the former shop and post office closed, with 20+ extra homes built.

• The population of the Bodham & Beckham community exceeds that of other Community owned shops with a post office service. Bodham & Beckham (824 approx), Gt Ryburgh (694), Itteringham (125), Neatishead (565).

• The post office in Bodham would also represent the closest Post Office service for: Baconsthorpe (215), Plumstead (124), Gresham (401), parts of Sustead (inc Bessingham & Metton (215) – Total resident population for which this would be the closest Post Office (Population of 2320)

• The location of the Post Office would be on or close to the busy A148 road which brings significant passing trade.

• The Covid-19 situation has heightened an already present awareness of the importance of local services such as the Post Office.

• Bodham and Beckham have both a high proportion of elderly residents, and residents in social housing, for whom rural isolation, access to transport, etc are real and significant problems.

We hope these points can help as a guide to form part of a letter, but if you can think of any other reasons for the need of a Post Office in the village please include them as well. We hope you are able to take the time to write a letter or send an e-mail to Matthew Hatfull. Don’t forget you can ask for help if it would help. We think this will help in our goal of achieving a permanent Post Office in Bodham which will serve our many surrounding villages as well. Thanks for reading this first newsletter. We will keep you informed of progress and developments in this important project.