Savage Post Office Closures in Bedford Borough Announced

12.04.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 8th Jul 2008

Bedford Borough Lib Dems have slammed the Labour Government's savage cull of post offices on the day that the planned closure of eight local branches has been announced

Post Office Ltd has announced that eight local branches in Bedford Borough are to close as part of the Labour Government's savage cull of 2,500 branches nationwide. The list of branches to be closed has changed slightly from the one released accidentally due to an internet blunder in November last year, with the branch situated in the Budgens store on Kimbolton Road reprieved but with the Stewartby and 193 Goldington Road (Junction with Polhill/Newnham Avenue) branches added.

Local Liberal Democrats launched a vigorous campaign to save the local post offices after the initial list of planned closures was published, and have responded to the final announcement of the branches with a rallying cry for the fight to Save Bedford's Post Offices.

Commenting, Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Dave Hodgson said: "The list of closures confirms that both urban and rural communities in Bedford Borough face the devastating blow of losing their local post office. However, we will fight these closures every step of the way. The elderly, the poor and the most vulnerable people in our communities will suffer most from local branch closures, and we must make sure their voices are heard.'

"Labour seems determined to rip the heart out of local communities, but the current consultation presents an opportunity to make an unanswerable case for the protection of local post offices. I therefore urge residents to respond individually to the consultation by the closing date on the 26th of August. We can then only hope that the consultation proves to be genuine, and not a sham like many other recent Government consultations.'

Liberal Democrat Councillor Charles Royden, whose Brickhill Ward faces the loss of the Brickhill Drive branch, said: "After stripping the post office of a range of services such as the payment of TV Licences, the Labour Government is continuing to manage the decline of the network by closing local branches such as Brickhill Drive. The Post Office network has been starved of investment by successive Governments which refuse to recognise the social value of the local post office branch. Nowhere is it more valuable than in the community served by the Brickhill Drive branch, and I will fight to prevent the closure of this vital local asset.

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Wootton and Stewartby Coun Judith Cunningham also hit out at the closure list, which includes Stewartby Post Office: "Shamefully, the residents of Stewartby face the loss of their vital local Post Office thanks to a Government with a warped set of priorities. It can find billions at the drop of a hat to try to reverse blunders such as the 10 pence tax fiasco during by-election campaigns. Meanwhile, residents in Stewartby face paying the price of its attempts to save a fraction of that amount by closing essential local post offices. The result of this will be that those residents must travel several miles to the nearest branch, which is not served by a bus route from Stewartby."

ENDS

NOTES:

- The branches proposed for closure in Bedford Borough are as follows:

• 11 Silver Street, Stevington

• Corner House, Ravensden Crossroads, Ravensden

• 103 Brickhill Drive, Brickhill, Bedford

• 193 Goldington Road, Bedford

• Stewartby Post Office, The Stores, Stewartby

• 105 Midland Road, Bedford

• 6 Elstow Road, Kingsbrook, Bedford

• 1 Springfields Centre, Orchard Street, Kempston

- Mobile Post Offices are proposed for Colmworth, Upper Dean and Thurleigh

• Views and comments in response to the consultation can be submitted to the following address:

Laura Tarling

Network Development Manager

C/o National Consultation Team

FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM

Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk

Customer Helpline: 08457 22 33 44

• Views and comments in response to the consultation can also be submitted to the industry watchdog Postwatch, which is monitoring the consultation process to ensure that it is conducted fairly, using the following contact details:

Write to: FREEPOST POSTWATCH

e-mail: info@postwatch.co.uk

Telephone: 08456 013265

Related Links:

Post Office Closures Consultation Page.

Save Bedford's Post Offices Campaign Website.