A VILLAGE which could dramatically increase in size is set to be without a Post Office in 2017.

Gullane’s Post Office, located within the Gullane Mini-Market convenience store on Stanley Road, is to “temporarily close” from today (Saturday).

The Post Office has assured customers it is “investigating the options available” to allow it to reinstate the service in the community but, at present, there are no firm plans for it to return.

The resignation of the local Postmaster has led to the closure.

Residents of Gullane – which has a population of jut under 4,000 inhabitants – will now be faced with a trip to either Aberlady or North Berwick for the next nearest Post Office. More than 300 new homes are planned for the village.

Jeremy Findlay, chairman of Gullane Area Community Council, was disappointed that the Post Office was closing and called on East Lothian Council and the Post Office to find a solution.

He said: “I think the ideal plan was to have a stand-alone Post Office but I don’t think that is going to happen.

“There is talk of it going into the village’s library.”

He was disappointed that the local authority and the Post Office had been unable to iron out a solution before the upcoming closure and had spoken to the village’s three councillors, David Berry, Tim Day and Jim Goodfellow, about the issue.

Mr Goodfellow said: “I’m extremely disappointed that the Post Office and the shopkeepers have not managed to find a solution to this.

“The council is looking at a temporary solution in January to allow Gullane to continue to have Post Office services.

“We have not formalised that as yet but we hope to do that in the next week or so. Iain Gray MSP and myself are meeting with officials from the Post Office in early January to see if we can find a solution.”

Mr Findlay noted there were a trio of housing developments planned for the village, which could see 324 new homes built across three different sites.

He added: “The village needs a Post Office, especially as it is about to get an awful lot bigger. We would be the largest town in East Lothian without a Post Office.”

A Post Office spokesman said “Following the resignation of the Postmaster and the withdrawal of the premises for Post Office use, Gullane Post Office will temporarily close on Saturday, December 31. We know how important Post Office services are to people in Gullane and we apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.

“Any customers wishing to access Post Office services may do so from any convenient Post Office branch, including Aberlady Post Office and North Berwick Post Office.

“We would like to assure customers that we are currently investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community. In exploring this, it is important that any future service is sustainable for the person operating the service, and for Post Office.”