The postmaster powering Dartmoor’s remote communities

Vital Post Office services continue to serve Dartmoor’s rural communities, with established outreach branches helping to bridge access gaps across the moorland region.

Stuart Rogers, the full-time Postmaster at Ashburton in Devon, also operates outreach services in several villages including Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Ilsington, Kingskerswell, Postbridge, Dousland, Drewsteignton and Buckland Monachorum.

The outreach network, introduced and expanded in 2023, restored key services to locations such as Drewsteignton and Postbridge following previous closures. 

A Post Office spokesperson told The Moorlander: “Post Office services across Dartmoor are provided by a variety of postmasters and operators. We have a mix of full-time and part-time branches.

“These branches provide vital mail services, everyday personal and business banking, home shopping returns, bill payments and top ups at all of our branches. A fuller range of services [is offered] at the bigger branches including vehicle tax, passports and driving licence renewals, ID verification services, [and] foreign currencies on demand or pre-order.

“Customers can visit www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder to find the location of branches, services that they provide and opening times.

“We have a network of more than 11,500 branches across the UK including many rural locations. We have a Government-approved access criteria for Post Office provision of 99% of the UK population being within 3 miles, and 90 per cent within 1 mile of a Post Office. We fulfil those requirements.”

In addition to providing outreach services, Mr Rogers also runs the Ashburton Hub, an initiative designed to serve people in rural Dartmoor with wider access to banking and community services. 

The hub allows residents to access personal and business banking on behalf of all major high street banks, and also offers library facilities.

A transport scheme brings residents to the Ashburton branch, helping those in more isolated locations stay connected to essential services.

Local businesses and residents say these services play a vital role in sustaining community life and supporting economic resilience in the countryside, particularly as banking infrastructure continues to disappear from rural high streets.