news story

22nd February 2008

MP Launches Fight Against West Post Office Closures

Support the campaign to Save Our Local Post Offices

Northavon MP Steve Webb has vowed to fight plans to close three sub post offices in his Northavon constituency. Under post office proposals, local closures would be:

* Tytherington post office - currently sited in a community shop which itself started following the initiative of local residents; the post office are recommending that residents use Thornbury post office instead, with a bus service only once every 90 minutes;

* Station Road, Yate post office - sited in a Tesco express store; if this post office closes, everyone in this large and growing town will have to use the Crown post office in Yate shopping centre which already has long queues at peak times;

* Old Sodbury post office - jointly located with the remaining village shop whose viability would be undermined if the post office were to go;

Steve Webb said:

"This nationwide programme of 2,500 post office closures is totally unacceptable. We will be fighting our local closures but in other areas a successful campaign to save one post office has often led to another being closed instead.

"Post offices are very often at the heart of their local community, especially in an area such as mine. They are especially important to older residents whose concerns are being totally ignored. I urge everyone possible to write or e-mail in response to the public consultation, so that the Post Office know the strength of local feeling about these closures".