AFTER successfully overcoming delays and hurdles - residents have completed on the purchase of Llandyrnog Post Office.

After 20 months of working on the shop and post office project, residents finally have the keys to the Post Office which has been at the heart of the community for more than a century.

Emyr Morris, Llandyrnog resident who has been leading the project along with directors Viv Rosser, Jackie Le Fevre and Gina Johnston, and chair Ivan Butler, termed the day project members received the keys as a "very memorable date."

He said: "We have encountered our fair share of delays and hurdles to overcome during our work but we can now see a clear way forward to get the project back on track.

"Along with funds raised from our Community Share Offer and donations, we were also supported by grants from the UK Government Levelling-up department Community Ownership Fund and the Welsh Government Community Facility Programme Fund.

"We are grateful to Rob Johnson and Roz Johnson-Cove for their support and allowing us the time to get our grant funding together to complete the purchase. We want to wish them all the best in their new home after running the shop and Post Office in the village for the last 11 years."

The Post Office is now temporarily closed to enable a programme of renovations and improvements to be undertaken before the reopening.

Emyr said: "We know this temporary closure will cause some inconvenience and we thank everyone for their understanding.

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"I am sure the community will see much activity as the work starts to be undertaken in the coming weeks and look forward to showing everyone the big changes when the doors finally reopen.

"We are grateful for the help of volunteers who are assisting with some key aspects of the work and welcome anyone who would like to give a helping hand."

In the last few weeks, project members have secured a grant from Brenig Wind Farm.

Emyr said: "This will assist us with architect fees and costs associated with relocating the Post Office counter.

"Once work on the property has been completed, in addition to help from volunteers, we will need to recruit two paid shop managers to oversee the retail shop, post office and hub on a job share basis."

Anyone interested can contact project members for an informal chat.

In March 2022, the shop part of the Llandyrnog Village Community Shop and Post Office was closed and put up for sale. Members of the community came together in the hope of buying the village shop, adopting a Community Benefit Societies (CBS) legal structure [a CBS model is formed by open and voluntary membership, with a management committee drawn from members of the community].

Project members are well on their way to achieving their ambitions - to raise enough funds to buy back the village shop and Post Office and to revive the village shop and Post Office back to its former glory.

Their final goal is to serve the community and surrounding areas with produce and vital services.

The village shop has existed in Llandyrnog since at least 1841 when it was set up by a Samuel Fox. It moved to its present location in 1982 after being located just across the road for many years.

Along with it’s Post Office, it has acted as a "central hub" for the village. Project members intend to offer light refreshments and indoor seating so the build can become a social space as well. 

Readers can follow progress via webpage 'Llandyrnog Shop'.