Local SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson has reacted with delight after receiving confirmation from Post Office management that a new Post Office Branch will open in Peterhead next month.
Located at the Londis Store in Blackhouse Terrace, the new branch will mean Peterhead once again has three Post Offices after the closure of Buchanhaven Post Office several years ago.
Welcoming the news, Banffshire & Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson said:
“This is excellent news for Peterhead and I’m delighted at this expansion in Post Office services locally. It’s particularly pleasing as the shop where the new Post Office will be located was itself closed until the new owner refurbished it and brought it back into use last year.
“When Buchanhaven Post Office closed several years ago I made representations at the time saying that it was a valued local service and changes in the way people access banking services and online shopping meant Post Offices would become more and more important. It’s taken a while for the UK Government to realise this but with a further reduction in banking services and the growth of internet shopping, the Post Office really is more important than ever now and I’m sure the new branch will be an asset to the community.”
Peterhead North & Rattray SNP councillor Anne Allan added:
“I very much welcome today’s announcement by the Post Office. It was a fairly short-sighted action to close Buchanhaven Post Office but the new Blackhouse Post Office will more than fill that gap and I wish the new Sub-postmaster every success going forward.”
Banffshire & Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson completed his annual surgery tour last week, clocking-up nearly 40 surgeries in communities across the constituency.
Mr Stevenson’s record of holding surgeries is second to none and makes him one of the most accessible MSPs in the country, having held over 1170 surgeries since he was elected.
Commenting, Stewart said:
“Most of the casework I receive from constituents these days comes in via e-mail, post or by phone, but I think it’s still very important to be available for face-to-face discussions in people’s own communities and the Surgery Tour serves that purpose very well.
“People brought a range of issues to me, which I am progressing with the relevant authorities.
“Over the years, many thousands of people have been in touch through one of my surgeries. It’s not always possible to achieve the outcome that people are seeking with a particular issue or problem, but on many occasions, simply the act of writing a letter on Parliamentary-headed paper on someone’s behalf is enough to make the powers that be or private companies sit up and pay attention to someone’s problem. Being able to help people in this way is both a pleasure and a privilege and I’m pleased to be able to do so.
“I’ll be holding more surgeries of the conventional type across the larger towns in the coming months but in the meantime, any constituent wishing to contact me can do so in a range of ways; by phone, e-mail, post, calling in at my Constituency Office or online via my website, www.stewartstevenson.scot, which also has full details of how to get in touch.”
Arrangements are already being made for Stewart’s next round of surgeries, which will take place next month.
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| Stewart at Findochty |
Banffshire & Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson has expressed his concerns over the threats of tariffs for Scotch whisky as part of an ongoing trade war between the EU and the US.
Commenting Stewart Stevenson said:
“There is a danger that Scotch whisky will be caught-up in this long-running trade dispute between the United States and the EU and I’m very concerned about that.
“Our exports of Scotch whisky to the United States were worth over £1billion last year with global sales absolutely vital to the Banffshire economy. Our local distilleries have benefited from duty-free access to the US and EU markets for decades, and any proposal to introduce tariffs would cause serious damage to the industry.
“With the huge uncertainty facing the industry over Brexit, this is the last thing it needs. We can’t afford for Scotch whisky to be caught in the cross-fire – we need the UK Government to make urgent representations to the EU to ensure that Scotch whisky is not collateral damage to this long-term dispute.”
Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
