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'Save our post offices'
Plans to axe post offices sparks anger
by Jennifer Williams11/ 6/2008
PLANS to axe more than one in four Stockport post offices have been greeted with dismay and anger.
Eleven of the borough’s 38 branches, along with one in Poynton, will be scrapped if the proposals go ahead, in the latest cull designed to make the network more financially viable.
Stockport would see more closures than any other part of Manchester - and local politicians and postal workers say it will devastate communities.
Postmaster Tony Macguire, who has run the Osborne Street branch in Bredbury for nearly 10 years, said the effects would be "horrendous", but falling trade means he is going out of business.
He said: "The last bastion of communities was the post office and this is destroying any place where people can come and meet - but I am not a charity.If I carried on like this I would be working for minimum wage."
He added: "It’s the generally busy people, the people who work, who are really going to get hammered here. The queues are going to get bigger and it’s going to be horrendous."
Councillor Sue Derbyshire, executive member for communities, said: "Most of these post offices are well used by their customers and valued by their communities.We did an analysis using the Post Office’s own criteria and found they all fall at least into one of the categories for remaining open.I think they are simply assuming that people in Stockport are an easy target."
Branches in North Reddish, South Reddish, Shaw Heath, Gatley, Heaviley, Bredbury, Marple, Strines, Great Moor, Heaton Norris, and central Stockport are earmarked for the axe.
Reddish MP Andrew Gwynne commented: "I am particularly concerned about the closure of North Reddish Post Office as the closure proposal acknowledges that there are no public transport services for the people of North Reddish to the remaining alternative office at Oak Drive, Denton."
Mark Hunter, MP for Cheadle, and Andrew Stunell, MP for Hazel Grove, have launched a petition in protest.
Mr Stunell said: "In Stockport 27 percent of branches are recommended for closure - we are taking a very big hit.Several are in remote communities, like the one in the village of Strines, where they are also the only local shop providing other provisions as well as postal services."
Mr Hunter added: "It’s not too late for action on this issue. I hope local people speak out and sign our petition to save their local post office."
Ann Coffey, MP for Stockport, said she will be writing to constituents immediately to get their reaction and find out how much they use their local branch.
Richard Lynds, the Post Office’s Network Development manager for the north west, said: "Taking the decision to close any Post Office branch is always very difficult and we know it will cause concern to many of our customers.We believe these proposals offer the best prospect for a sustainable way forward for post offices in this area."
To express their views on the closures, people can write to: Richard Lynds, c/o the National Consultation Team, Freepost Consultation, or email consultation@postoffice.co.uk.
Post Offices set to close
- High Grove Post Office, Silverdale Road, Gatley
- North Reddish Post Office, Gorton Road
- South Reddish Post Office, Reddish Road
- Heaviley Post Office, Buxton Road, Heaviley
- Osborne Street Post Office, Bredbury
- Rose Hill Post Office, Stockport Road, Marple
- Strines Post Office, Strines Road, Strines
- Great Moor Post Office, Buxton Road, Great Moor
- Hall Street Post Office, Hall Street
- Heaton Road Post Office,
- Heaton Road, Heaton Norris
- Lowfield Road Post Office, Lowfield Road, Shaw Heath
- Hockley Post Office, Park Lane, Poynton
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Unfortunately, it has largely escaped the attention of Liberal Democrat Stockport Council that that many a Council up and down the country responded positively rather than pose with banners and posters.
Some Councils have helped their sub-postmasters by funding retail consultants who trained and advised these small businesses on business development and innovation. Other Councils set their local libraries up as a base for a range of post office type services. Even schools and mobile units have been put into the breech. Some Councils have even made special arrangements for payment of Council Tax, rent or benefit via post offices; others are supporting local volunteers who take it in turns to operate a limited service for residents who could not otherwise access postal services. I wonder how many concerned residents who signed petitions were aware at the time of the role Stockport Council could have played in keeping our local sub post offices open.
13/06/2008 at 19:29