Councillors have given their tick of approval to establish a post office in the one time Pacific Palms Visitor Information Centre.
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The post office has been forced to relocate to Blueys Beach premises - owned by MidCoast Council - following the sale of the Charlotte Bay location earlier this year, while the one-time Pacific Palms Tourist Information building has been vacant since the centre closed in late 2021.
When opened, the new site will continue to provide essential banking and postal services to the Pacific Palms community and beyond. Its operating hours will extend from 8.30am-5pm, Monday to Friday, but not public holidays.
The removal of the service would have meant the community would have had to travel to larger centres of Forster or Bulahdelah.
Before its opening, the building will undergo some minor alterations including the removal of existing glazing and installation of key accessible post office boxes and internal and external refurbishment including painting and relocation of internal partitions.
At the same time existing parking surfaces will be resealed, line marked and signposted.
It is worth noting that alternative sites were considered by the operator but none were considered suitable
- Deputy mayor, Alan Tickle
The decision to approve the development application (DA) was passed unanimously.
The application attracted 65 submissions during the public exhibition period, 57 of which were in support of the proposal.
Troy Fowler said he believed the majority of the community supported the location change.
"Over the last two or three years our post offices have changed and made a major difference in a lot of our communities."
For the Pacific Palms community not to have a post office would be very detrimental, he said.
Cr Fowler went further to thank the council staff for addressing, what he believed was an urgent matter, so promptly.
RELATED: New location for post office
Deputy mayor, Alan Tickle said there were some concerns expressed by the community that the site was a council owned building.
"It is worth noting that alternative sites were considered by the operator but none were considered suitable," he said.
Dheera Smith said benefits from the relation relocation would extend far beyond the Pacific Palms area.
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Jeanene Duncan
Jeanene has more than 40 years experience as a regional and rural journalist starting at The Land Newspaper. She also worked for Stock Journal Newspaper (SA), McPherson, Fairfax newspapers and Rural Press, and contributed to various magazines.
Jeanene has more than 40 years experience as a regional and rural journalist starting at The Land Newspaper. She also worked for Stock Journal Newspaper (SA), McPherson, Fairfax newspapers and Rural Press, and contributed to various magazines.
