THE owners of Blaenavon Post Office are overjoyed at being nominated for another national award, after being put up in the ‘Best Village Shop/Post Office’ category of the Countryside Alliance awards.

The shop’s owners, Nick and Wendy Horler, hope that the nomination can bring attention to the wider community.

Mr Horler said: “To be recognised nationally is very good, not only for our business but for our community as well.

“We are one of a number of businesses in the town that strive for excellence and push to get our name out there.

“Where Blaenavon is a World Heritage site, we would like to see more people coming into the community and this is another way to get the word out.

“Retail is really hard at the moment, not just in Blaenavon but everywhere. The more we, or any of the businesses in the community, can get our names out there, the better.

“Over the years we have looked for new locally sourced creative ideas to bring visitors to our high street.”

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The post office was ‘highly commended’ in the Post Office Retailer of the Year category in the 2018 Retail Industry Awards and has been named Independent Post Office Retailer of the Year for two years running.

They have also raised money for pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer charities, as well as becoming the first dementia friendly post office in Wales in 2015.

The awards, which are also known as the ‘Rural Oscars’, are now in their fourteenth year and are the Countryside Alliance’s annual celebration of British food and farming, enterprise and heritage.

The Welsh regional champions will be announced at the Senedd in April, before the overall champions will be announced at the Houses of Parliament in June.