The Czech Post will close 21 branches in the Plzeň Region from July, almost a quarter of them. Of these, 11 will close in Plzeň and two each in Klatovy and Tachov, while others will close in Rokycany, Domažlice, Sušice, Břase in the Rokycany region, Chotíkov near Plzeň and Horách Matky Boží near Velhartice in the Klatovy region. The regional town managed to negotiate the preservation of two branches. The post office in the largest Olympia shopping centre in the Plzeň-Cernice district will remain, while the long-closed Teplice 2 post office in the Ústí nad Labem region will be closed instead. On the other hand, instead of the Hradec Králové 12 post office, the branch in Hory Matky Boží near Velhartice in the Klatovy region will end.
Instead of the branch in Skvrňany, the post office will close the branch in Křimice and the town of Plzeň will take over its operation as Posta Partner Plus. The Křimice district has already signed a contract for the purchase of furniture, counters and equipment, including a safe. “I will sign the main contract tomorrow (Wednesday) and the official handover will take place on Monday, July 3, when the people from the post office should arrive and we will know when the scheme under the office will start. We are giving ourselves a week to get it up and running,” said Vít Mojžíš (Plzeňská alliance), mayor of Plzeň-Křimice with 2,300 inhabitants. The purchase of the equipment for tens of thousands of crowns is being paid for by the Pilsen city council. “Because our post office was not supposed to be closed, but we agreed to replace it. And it seemed logical to us that the 13,000 inhabitants of Skvrňany would lose their post office. So we offered to make ours available, but on the condition that we keep it under the district,” Mojžíš said.
The Partner Plus post office will be open daily, and the hours will be more convenient for citizens. Until now, the hours at the post office and the district office were the same, but now they will alternate, so locals will be able to check signatures at Czech Point all day long, for example. “They will either go to the office or to the post office,” the mayor added. The operation of the post office will also be paid for by the municipality, at an annual cost of more than CZK 1 million. The post office in Křimice is in a building belonging to the municipal district office, which will have an employee there. “We will not offer life insurance, toys, shampoos or video tapes. But we will sell magazines, newspapers, lottery tickets and pencils,” Mojžíš said.
“Negotiations with the Czech Post were very complicated and heated,” said Rudolf Salvetr (ODS), chairman of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of the Pilsen Region and mayor of Klatovy. The central post office will remain in Klatovy, the second largest town. According to Salvetr, the post office in Gorký Street was eventually retained, but only for parcels. “So this so-called depot will remain, where the opening hours will be extended. In addition, the counter there will also allow parcel deliveries to non-contract deliverers, i.e. ordinary people, which is good for us,” he said. The Klatovy post offices in Luby and Podhůrčí will be closed and Česká pošta is offering the buildings for sale.
In Rokycany, the region’s third-largest city, Česká pošta will close the office in Boženy Němcova Street, which will worsen the availability of services, especially for elderly citizens from the surrounding apartment buildings, according to spokeswoman Adriana Jarošová. “One branch in the centre of the town will remain. The post office has announced a strengthening of services at peak times. However, the problem with the post office is that it is located in Jiráskova Street, where parking is worse, and accessibility is currently worsened by the demanding overall reconstruction of the street,” Jarošová said.
Only the main post office will remain in Tachov. The city wanted to keep the post office in the Rapotín housing estate, mainly for the sake of the elderly, and considered the Partner Plus model there, but after receiving documents from the Czech Post, it backed out. “It would have been unreasonably expensive for us,” said Mayor Petr Vrána (I Vote Tachov). Tachov will introduce senior taxis from September at the latest, which will take less mobile citizens to the main post office, to the doctor, for shopping or to the bank.
Source: Česká pošta and CTK
