Post office Closure Meeting
17 October, 2007
Two Post Offices are earmarked for closure in NG9 and are the branch at 44 Meadow Road, Beeston Rylands and 40a Sevenoaks Crescent, Bramcote Hills.
The meeting took place at County Hall on Friday, October 12 and attendees included County Councillors, representatives from parish and district Councils and other stakeholders such as Older Peoples Action Group (OPAG) and the Rural Community Council.
Proposed Closures
The Post Office has released plans to close 30 of 156 existing Post Offices in Nottinghamshire. They also want to replace a further three Post Offices with outreach services.
The views expressed at the meeting will enable the County Council to form its feedback to the Post Office on the changes and identify ways in which the authority can support other organisations with their responses.
Speakers
Speakers included Post Office Ltd, Postwatch (the Post Office consumer watchdog), the Nottinghamshire Federation of Sub-postmasters and officers from the Communities Department.
Geoff George, Economic Regeneration Manager at the County Council, said: “We understand that closures are proposed but we feel that the Post Office needs firstly to consider how the existing network in the county arguably falls short of the thresholds established by them in justifying further closures.
”Strength of local feelings"
“The event demonstrated the strength of local feelings and certainly some local issues require further thought. Finally, we would certainly wish to see greater detail and a potential involvement in the proposed outreach alternatives such as mobile Post Offices as this will help reduce the impact on our affected communities.
“We encourage Nottinghamshire residents to take part in the consultation and help influence the proposals set out by the Post Office.”
Have Your Say
The public has only a short time to offer their views on the closures, which may be made directly via the Post Office at www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange
The County Council is keen to receive views and this can be achieved by visiting the Nottinghamshire website at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk or by writing to the Council at Nottinghamshire County Council, Economic Regeneration, Freepost NG1966, Nottingham NG2 7QP
Finally, Postwatch is also interested in receiving details of any responses made and they can be found at www.postwatch.org.uk The Post Office’s consultation period ends on November, 13, 2007
By The Editor.
