THE Post Office plans to shut 44 branches and replace some with mobile services in rural Scottish communities, it was announced yesterday.
Outlets in Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire will be affected but the Post Office insists 91 per cent of the population will see no change in their local branch.
Some rural Ayrshire communities will be served by new services – eit
her mobile offices, a new outlet inside premises with “restricted hours”, a service inside a shop or over the phone.
A consultation period will last six weeks and details can be accessed online at
www.postoffice.co.uk or by writing to the company.
Sally Buchanan, network development manager for Scotland, said: “Taking the decision to close any post office branch is always very difficult and we know will cause concern to many of our customers.
“We want to ensure that everyone who uses, relies on or has any concern with post office services is both fully aware of the proposed changes, and able to give views on them.”
Ms Buchanan added: “The rural communities in Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire will be served by a total of 240 branches, of which 48 provide the only access to cash in their communities.
“We believe these proposals offer the best prospect for a sustainable way forward for post office services in Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, bearing in mind the minimum access criteria and the other factors to which we have to have regard.”
MP Mike Weir, the SNP trade and industry spokesman, said the Labour government was destroying an essential local service.
He said: “With so many post offices already being closed due to earlier announcements the extent of these cuts is death by a thousand cuts for many local community post offices.
“We should not forget that post offices provide a lifeline local service, and if these closures go ahead it will undermine both the economic and, in many areas, the social heart of communities.”
Michael Moore, Liberal Democrat Scotland spokesman said: “The UK Government seems determined to destroy the post office network. Post offices provide a vital service, particularly in rural areas and for vulnerable people. When they close, other services often follow suit, with devastating consequences for a community.
“It is simply not enough to offer inadequate replacements, such as services over the phone. This would not provide anything like the kind of service people in rural areas rely on.”
Figures released yesterday revealed that almost one third of older people (3.6 million) have seen their nearest post office close down.
The statistics, from Help the Aged, also show that one fifth of older people (2.3 million) will need to travel between half a mile to a mile further to find a replacement for their local closing branch.
Help the Aged says older people are a primary customer base for the Post Office, with thousands collecting their pensions direct from their local post office each week.
The charity pointed out that although nearly 100,000 responses to the public consultation have been sent and almost 500 hours of meetings have been held to save post offices, less than 4 per cent of branches originally marked for closure have been saved.
Dr Alan Burnett, senior policy officer for Help the Aged, said: “Older people are contacting us to say they feel ignored by the consultation process. It’s beginning to seem as if the Post Office is merely paying lip service to government consultation regulations and not really listening.”
The full article contains 594 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
