Council must act on city post offices, say campaigners

A ONCE thriving community is being "torn apart" by the closure of its post office, firms and residents say.

It is a year since campaigners in Carrington began trying to save the post office, in Mansfield Road.

Since the it closed in March, Essex County Council has become the first in Britain to re-open a its post office in partnership with Post Office Ltd, and more in the county are set to follow.

Nottingham City Council previously agreed to look into the possibility of re-opening both the Carrington and New Lenton post offices – and campaigners are now calling on them to act.

Alan Simpson, the MP for Nottingham South, is also concerned that the council has not done enough.

Beki Anderson, from the joint campaign to re-open Carrington and New Lenton post offices, said: "We are all really angry that what was once a thriving community is now being torn apart, and the real cost of these closures means that we may lose our community forever.

"The Government will bail out banks, but what about these small businesses that are the lifeblood of our local communities? Nottingham City Council must act now to keep these businesses alive."

Mr Simpson said: "This is a sequence of closures. If Nottingham doesn't learn anything from this, it will be even less prepared for the next round of closures."

He believes Nottingham's negotiations with Post Office Ltd have not progressed because the council is reluctant to pledge a £30,000 subsidy.

Mr Simpson said: "I don't think the council has grasped the key element and the starting point, and that is that we've got to put money on the table."

Station Way Post Office, in Buckhurst Hill, near Epping, re-opened for business on September 13. Essex County Council intends to open a further 14 of its 31 post offices, which will also provide a range of council services.

Council leader Lord Hanningfield said: "I am very proud that we in Essex have been able to achieve something that our residents feel so strongly about."

Campaigners from the joint New Lenton and Carrington campaign have met in Carrington every week since the campaign began a year ago. They have collected impact statements from the parade of 17 shops by the post office, 12 of which have been negatively affected.

The statements revealed that takings are down for some shops, some are considering closing or relocating, the cost of mail order has increased and staff have spent more time out of the shop to queue at other post offices.

Essex council held a National Post Office Conference on October 23. It was attended by councils from across the country, who heard about the 'Essex Model' for financing post offices.

Delegates heard that £6 of every £10 withdrawn from a post office – either from a card account or by people using the post office to access their bank services – will be spent in the local economy.

A city council spokesman said an independent consultant had been commissioned to explore "any possible option for post office service reinstatement".

Simon Green, Director of Sustainable Development at the council, said: "We've put a lot of time and effort into this situation. We are committed to the community group and are keen to get a successful outcome."

Mr Green said there had been numerous meetings with the Post Office, which have taken place without the need for any pledge of a financial subsidy.

He added that the council, like many local authorities, has had to wait for the pilot project between the Post Office and Essex County Council to progress.

He added: "There was a slight delay because Post Office Ltd were waiting for the Government clearance on the Essex model, and that's delayed it slightly, but that was a national delay."

He also pointed out that Essex's needs are different from Nottingham's, because the post offices being reinstated in Essex are largely in rural areas.

"Each location is different, and that's what we have to respect."

caroline.lowbridge@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk