On April 1st the Post Office will reveal the number and location of branches that it has identified for closure across Telford and Shropshire.
Tom Biggins, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Telford, who has spearheaded local opposition to closures, said: “This announcement will be no laughing matter – it will be bad news for more local communities in Telford and Shropshire as a whole.
“The stark reality is that too many Post Offices have already been forced to close in Telford. Everyone I speak to agrees with this. There is very strong feeling right across the town that previous forced closures have caused immense inconvenience and hassle, particularly to those people living in Lawley, Dawley Bank and Ketley.
“Every time I talk to people in St Georges they say how bitterly they regret that their local Post Office was also forced to close and how much they miss the services it provided. Such is the extent of the strong feeling that exists even today.
“I believe passionately that Post Offices in local centres provide a vital service, especially to the elderly and infirm. They are literally irreplaceable.”
Earlier this month, Tom Biggins made a point of visiting every Post Office in Telford. He has assured the Post Masters, their staff and local people that he will stand up for their interests and will fight hard to keep all the existing Post Offices open.
On Tuesday morning, when the announcement is due, he will be progressing his campaign with group protests outside the affected post offices, where petitions will be available for all to sign. The protests will be followed up by further action days and public meetings.
“I hope to see as many people as possible signing our petition and coming along to our public meetings. I would also urge all people that are opposed to the Post Office closure programme to visit my website - www.tombiggins4telford - and sign my E-petition.”
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Notes to Editor:
- Closure programme: Post Office Ltd will be looking to close between 12% and 15% of Sub Post Offices within the Telford area. The review process started formally on 14th January 2008, ahead of a public consultation which runs for six weeks between 1st April and 9th June. Announcements of any closures are expected on 1st July with closures taking effect from 29th July 2008.
Post Office Closures: What YOU should know
- Labour holds the record for closing Post Offices faster than any other Government -almost 10 a week since 1997.
- 4,000 Post Offices have already closed under Labour - that’s a quarter of the country’s Post Office network.
- The Government’s announcement that it will shut down a further 2,500 Post Offices will continue to decimate the network; by the time of the next election, Gordon Brown will have closed down a third of the entire Post Office network.
- The target that the Government has set for closures is arbitrary and illogical, taking no account of whether a Post Office marked for closure is profitable or not.
- Countless communities will lose their only shop and vulnerable people will lose a service they depend upon. Ministers have taken no account of the needs of the elderly, of the disabled, or of the most disadvantaged - the very ones who will lose out most.
- As few as 4,000 of Britain’s 14,300 Post Offices may survive Labour’s decade.
What the Conservatives WOULD DO
- Give sub-Post Offices more freedom to offer a wider range of business services.
- Push for more Post Offices to be ‘One Stop Shops’ - trained staff could then advise on a range of matters, including tax returns, pension entitlements, opening hours and so on.
- Encourage local Councils to open ‘Council Counters’ in local branches.
- Allow the Post Office to work with carriers other than the Royal Mail.
- Prevent the Royal Mail taking business away from sub-Post Offices by under-cutting the prices they can charge for postage.
Further information from:
Tom Biggins, Parliamentary Spokesman for Telford
Email: tom@tombiggins4telford.com (www.tombiggins4telford.com)
