Rallying call in the post over closures

Apr 15 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal

A PARISH council in Northumberland has issued a call- to-arms in the battle to protect the region’s under- threat post offices.

The Royal Mail is this summer expected to announce plans to close a raft of post offices across Northumberland and in Tyne and Wear.

The public consultation period for the closures will take place in July, and the timing has come in for criticism as it coincides with the summer holidays.

But now parish councils are taking steps to make sure they are prepared for the fight, with Broomley and Stocksfield Parish Council this week sending a note to residents to be aware of the threat and urging them to get involved with the consultation period early.

Julia Sayce, chairman of the council, said it was important that communities were ready with hard facts.

She said: “Our message is that we want to know what services people use their post office for so that when the closure list is unveiled, we can have the facts ready to put to the post office people. We don’t want to find ourselves in a position in July that our post offices are to close and only then to start asking the questions.

“When you talk to people, they say how awful it would be, were one of our post offices to close.

“We would really like people who use the post offices, even if they live out of the parish, what use they make of the post office so that we can defend them.”

Northumberland County Council has said that it is monitoring the possibility of introducing schemes seen in other parts of the country where councils plan to take over the running of post offices.

Newcastle City Council is also examining moving post offices into council service buildings to keep the facilities as close to communities as possible.

The consultation period into the proposed closure of 14 branches in the south of County Durham was held last month.

A Post Office spokesman said: “The area plan for Tyne and Wear with Northumberland and Durham enters a six-week public consultation period on July 1, when the post office closure proposals for the area will be announced.

“Post Office Ltd will take into account all feedback on our proposals received during the consultation before coming to a final decision.”

The consultation will be discussed at a meeting of Broomley and Stocksfield Parish Council on April 21 at 7.30pm in Stocksfield Community Centre.

Battle lines are drawn

THE council in Stocksfield is not alone in taking steps to be prepared, with others across the county also getting ready early for the consultation period.

Michael Young, chairman of Belford Parish Council in north Northumberland, said: "We have already talked about it and have lobbied people to ask them to send letters to the Post Office. We would urge people to let us know how they use their post office so that we have all the facts ready in the summer."

And Alf Adams, clerk of Bardon Mill Parish Council, said: "I have been speaking with the local postmistress to see if there is anything we can do, such as approaching the elderly people to make sure they can take part. We have also written to the Post Office to complain about the timing of the consultation."