County braces itself for post office closures

4:17pm Thursday 17th May 2007

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By Cathy Anstey »

FORTY to 50 sub post offices are expected to close in Worcestershire and Herefordshire by the end of next year as part of the Government's plan to slim-down the network.

And half of these will be in towns and cities if Worcestershire follows the national trend, says Peter Luff, Mid Worcestershire MP and chairman of the Trade and Industry Select Committee which has been monitoring the closure issue.

Ahead of an official announcement, Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling told the BBC's Radio 4 programme: "I believe if we reduce the network by about 2,500 branches, backed by the £1.5 billion investment from Government, we can have a sustainable network."

But Mr Luff described the move as "managing decline".

"The Government has made up its mind and has all the powers it needs to do this. The Government is managing the decline of the Post Office.

"I do not think enough has been done to find a viable future for Post Offices. The Government has taken business away from the Post Offices to make them unviable and then blamed the Post Offices for being unviable.

"I think the Royal Mail has been very unenterprising in its approach. It has not looked at ways of sustaining the Post Office."

He said detailed plans would be drawn up for the post offices in each of 60 areas across the country and there would be a six-week consultation period when local authorities, organisations, businesses and members of the public could express their views.

"We will have six weeks to respond to their proposals but my committee has called for 12 weeks to make sure everyone has a chance to get involved."

He added apart from the compulsory closures there would be a large number of unplanned closures across the country.

A timetable of the process will be published in July and it will be completed, including all the closures, by the end of 2008.

County councillor Tom Wells, who spearheaded a campaign in his Powick ward opposing the closure idea, said the fight to save sub Post Offices would continue. He is urging the county's MPs to put their political differences aside and fight shoulder to shoulder to keep Post Offices open.

He said he would be tabling an emergency motion with the county council to demand the Government reconsider any closures.

"The Government has failed to recognise the vital role the Post Office plays in rural and urban communities. It is another nail in the coffin for village communities."

In many cases the closure of the local post office would jeopardise the long-term viability of the local shop and if local shops closed that would have serious implications for communities.

"The Government seems to know the price of everything and the value of nothing," he said.