RESIDENTS in Banwell have written to North Somerset Council objecting to plans for another takeaway in the village. Alan Vickery

RESIDENTS in Banwell have written to North Somerset Council objecting to plans for another takeaway in the village.Alan Vickery, who owns a butcher's shop on West Street, has tried unsuccessfully for the past two years to sell up and has now applied to the authority requesting a change of use to a takeaway.The butcher's shop, A & S Vickery Family Butchers, which is next door to the village post office, is one of the last remaining shops in the village. However, some residents are worried because they think a takeaway next to the village post office will harm its chances of staying open.Earlier this year the Government proposed the closure of up to 2,500 post offices over 18 months from summer 2007.In a letter to the council, villagers Mr and Mrs Harris said: "A great many post offices have been closed and this proposed takeaway could tip the scales against Banwell Post Office being retained. "We now have no banks in the village and the post office is our only source for banking. To lose this would be disastrous."The village already has two takeaways. We do not need another but we do need our post office."Postmistress Jean Sims has said the post office's security could be under threat if the village's third takeaway opened next door.Banwell Parish Council agreed to write to councillors with its concerns regarding the proposals over cooking smells, opening hours and traffic and parking problems.