Wetwang Meeting Point is the brainchild of Carol and Ron Robertson who decided to set up a regular social morning in the village after growing increasingly concerned for the elderly in the wake of the closures.

Mrs Robertson, who has lived in the village for more than 20 years, said: "Once the post office shut and the shop shut, there was nowhere for people to catch up with each other and pass the time of day so we decided to do something about it."

The meeting point, at Wetwang Village Hall, opens its doors to the public every Tuesday from 9am to 12.30pm, providing a place for villagers to catch up over a hot drink and a biscuit or to borrow books and jigsaws in return for a 20p donation.

Mrs Robertson added: "This is only our third week, but we had 15 people in during the first week and 25 the following week so it's going well and people have told us what a good idea it is."

The chairman of Wetwang Parish Council, Frank Wilson, believes the meeting point goes some way to compensate for the loss of their full-time post office earlier in the year.

Mr Wilson said: "I think it's a really good idea. The post office was a meeting point for the community and now we have this on a Tuesday morning. I am sure it will get stronger and stronger as it goes on.
"We have certainly noticed less and less people walking through the village since the post office shut.


"The outreach is adequate, but it's not the same as having our own post office," he added.

The meeting point runs alongside an outreach service provided by the Post Office at the village hall every Tuesday from 9am to 1pm and Friday from 10.30am to 12.30pm, but it seems people are going along to the meeting point simply for the chance to catch up with friends and neighbours.

Inge Nunn, who has lived in Wetwang for 25 years, said: "It's brilliant, it's the best idea we have had in this village for a long time.

"We thoroughly enjoy meeting our friends, we don't come to the post office, we just come for the meeting point."
sara.beach@yrnltd.co.uk

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