MP hits out at closure plans

LOCAL MP Tim Loughton has today urged the Government to halt their plans to close thousands more post offices across the country.

Since the Government came to power a quarter of the Post Office network has already closed and East Worthing and Shoreham have lost nine of their branches.

Royal Mail bosses have said that up to 10,000 extra post offices may have to close nationwide over the next few years. This would leave only 4000 post offices open. The Department of Trade and Industry are due to announce further details regarding these closures on Thursday of this week.

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In October this year the Conservative Party produced an Action Plan to save local post offices which would involve giving Sub-Post Offices greater freedoms to offer a wider range of commercial products, pushing for more Post Offices to be 'one stop shops' for central government services, campaigning to save the Post Office Card Account from being axed and encouraging local councils to consider opening 'council counters' in local branches.

Tim said: "Post Office services in East Worthing and Shoreham have already been cut to the bone and further cuts are complete madness. Our post offices are an essential community service but it seems that the Government will not be satisfied until they have closed every last one.

"We have a large elderly population and Post Offices are particularly valuable to them. It is simply unrealistic to think that a situation where people have to walk a mile to a post office is acceptable.

"In the last round of sub post office cuts we lost nine branches and as a result of this I often see queues which stretch through the doors and into the street in the remaining branches. If the Government go ahead with these changes they will not only be undermining a vital lifeline to many of my constituents but they will also be handing a death sentence to small shops who rely on post offices to bring business to their parade of shops."