Post offices face being stamped out

9:29am Thursday 28th August 2008

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THE future looks bleak for 20 post offices spread across Herefordshire.

Brampton Bryan, Edwyn Ralph, Lyonshall, Rushall and Sutton St Nicholas are on the hit list revealed yesterday (Wednesday).

Brockhampton, Bishopswood, Llangrove, Tudorville at Ross-on-Wye, and the Redhill branch in Hereford are also set for closure.

The post office at Brampton Road in Newton Farm, Hereford, which closed last summer, is also included in the list, which confirms that the service will not be returning to the south Hereford estate.

Some branches have been put forward for an outreach programme which could see a reduced post office service with the possibility of limited opening hours, or a change of location to, for instance, a pub or village hall.

They include post offices at Almeley, Bishops Frome, Cradley, Dorstone, Lower Eggleton, Pembridge, Upper Sapey, Whitney-on-Wye and Wigmore.

A consultation process is due to begin for affected postmasters before a final decision is made by Post Office Ltd in early October.

Leominster MP Bill Wiggin said: “I’m outraged by the current set of proposals, which will hit residents and communities in my constituency hard. Many local people will not be able to travel long distances, especially in areas where there are poor transport links.”

John Davis, postmaster at the Redhill store on Mayberry Avenue, said his many elderly customers would suffer.

“A lot of people are showing their disgust. Many elderly people live in the estates around here, so where are they going to go?”

Mr Davis, a former Hereford United goalkeeper, has been handing out leaflets explaining the consultation process and how customers can oppose the proposal. He added that their shop would be staying open.

“There has been a post office here for 40 years. It seems unfair we’re being picked on after all the service we’ve given to those in the community.”

Those earmarked for closure or an outreach programme will now enter into the six-week consultation stage. Communities will be encouraged to put forward their reasons for branches to stay open.

Hereford MP Paul Keetch said plans were already in place for the process.

“I have arranged to meet representatives of Post Office Ltd, Postwatch and the council’s group leaders to take forward a joint approach to the consultation on a non-political basis,” he said.

“We need to ensure that the whole county is adequately provided for in light of the proposals and I will be urging those present to do the right thing for the residents of Herefordshire.”

Kenneth Parsons, chief executive of the Rural Shops Alliance (RSA), said communities involved in the process needed to plan a logical case.

“The main issue that could swing it in branches’ favour is that of access to a different post office,” he said.

“In terms of outreach programmes, they can be a better alternative than people first think, and Post Office Ltd is often open to discussion about the form an ‘outreach’ can take.”

The Conservative’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Hereford, Jesse Norman, who co-ordinated the county’s Save Our Post Offices campaign, said the Tudorville and Redhill closures were “particularly outrageous”.

“There’s not much rhyme or reason to it. It’s very bad that South Wye has lost another branch, and Ross has also been hit hard.”

Post Office Ltd drew up its closure plans after considering factors such as public transport availability, alternative access to post office services, the number of ‘customers sessions’ each branch had, and the impact closure would have on the local economy.

Tom Prendergast, of Post Office Ltd, said the national closure plans had been brought about by the network’s huge losses, which last year ran at £4 million a week.

“The present Post Office branch network is not sustainable,” he said. “With new technology, changing lifestyles and a wider choice of ways to access services, people are visiting post offices less.”

Despite the announcement, the government has stressed that 90% of the UK population would still be within one mile of a post office, and that 95% of rural residents would be within three miles of their nearest branch.

The Post Office’s public consultation period began yesterday (Wednesday) and all representations should be received by October 7. To express your views write to Mark Pattington, Network Development Manager, C/O National Consultation Team, FREEPOST Consultation Team. Alternatively, people can email consultation@ postoffice.co.uk