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United approach on post office closures
October 27, 2003 12:46 AM
Sutton's two MPs and its council leader will join forces to press the Post Office to involve them at a much earlier stage over possible post office closures in the borough.
The decision for a joint approach was the outcome of a meeting with Kay Dixon, Chairman of Greater London Postwatch, the watchdog body for postal services, who briefed the borough representatives on the restructuring of the urban post office network.
The Post Office has announced plans to close sub post offices throughout London by the end of 2004 to 'provide a more viable network'. More than 80 have already closed around the capital, but any decision to close post offices in Sutton has been deferred till the middle of next year. The final total of closures for Greater London could be as high as 400.
Paul Burstow, MP for Sutton and Cheam, said the Post Office was calling the programme 'network reinvention', but it was no more than a closure programme which could have an adverse effect on borough residents, particularly elderly people.
"While it is realistic to accept that some post offices may have to close I deplore the piecemeal process Post Office Ltd has been using up till now for its closures. I do welcome plans described to us by Kay Dixon for a more strategic, or area-based, approach in future to the decision-making process."
Paul Burstow said that he, Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington, and Cllr Sean Brennan, leader of Sutton Council, would urge Post Office Ltd in future to consult the local community, MPs and local councillors at the earliest possible stage of the process.
Paul Burstow MP said: "We want to make sure we have a network of post offices appropriate for Sutton in the 21st century, and not just a corporate downsizing decided on a drawing board at Post Office headquarters."
Tom Brake added: "If the Post Office agrees to our earlier involvement in the process, we will champion our constituents' interests. We will not be bamboozled into accepting their arguments in favour of cutting services just to fit their business plan."
Council Leader Sean Brennan also welcomed the new developments. "It is now our challenge to force the Post Office to take more account of local residents and their actual needs in the proposed network," he said.
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