Post Office sails towards titanic disaster

A recent visit to an unspoilt rural retreat in Cheshire laid bare the depth of the catastrophe facing the post office network. The village of Weaverham is spoilt for choice with two branches fighting it out for local business.

With the pruning of 2,500 post offices from the 14,300-strong network everyone assumed at least one of these outlets would get the chop. After all, by the Post Office's own criteria just as long as there is another branch less than three miles down the lane - or a mile in urban areas - there is no reason to feel guilty about axing the vital community lifeline.

In Weaverham the post offices are only half a mile apart. So it came to a shock to all - except, of course, the Post Office - when the grim reaper passed through Cheshire throwing black spots around like confetti but failing to call in at Weaverham.

Why so? Village subpostmaster Rob Done, 63, has spent the past 27 years working hard for the post office network and thinks he has the answer. He is incensed at the gradual erosion of business forced upon him by the Government, such as the axing of benefits books and losing the right to sell TV Licenses.

At the turn of the Century he ran a thriving outfit requiring six staff to man four counters. Yet thanks to the meddling of the Government he now has just one counter open, a couple of staff, and still loses money.

Since the network closure has not included his Weaverham branch he has also decided to quit. This closure was forced upon Rob for the simple reason that he cannot make ends meet.

The network closure programme mysteriously seems to target a lot of branches that actually make money.

The closure of 2,500 post offices over the next 18 months is just the tip of the iceberg - at least as many again will probably go because they are squeezed out of business. The closures are a handy smokescreen for the Post Office as they mask the true titanic scale of the disaster.

Toby Walne, Financial Mail on Sunday

toby@walne.co.uk

The full post office campaign, including the closure list

Comments

[Onnalee Cubitt]

You are absolutely correct.

I live in Basingstoke and my Post Office in Old Basing which has been earmarked for closure is apparently, as per the Post Office's own people, one of the top ten performers in the region. The criteria for selection nationwide should be "a combination of least used branches and non-commercial branches in areas of over provision". Our Post Office evidently does not fit either category.

What troubles me is I have a sneaking feeling that deals have been struck with large chains. I know of a number of successful independent and much loved Post Offices which have been selected for closure in place of less attractive seemingly less attended ones that are situated at the back of large chain shops such as Martins.

Would that fulfill the supposed Government/public approved criteria for selection? Has a deal been done by PO Limited with some of the big boys? If so are these legitimate reasons for selection?

[sylvia howe]

23.11.07
I have just seen on Channel 4 an advert by The Post Office, showing a local PO being used by Bill Oddie to send a 'duck calling' thing by post for the following day.

How dare the Post Office waste money advertising one of their services when so many people, particularly in urban/country areas, are facing losing their one and only Post Office?

Fortunately this does not apply to me, but I feel incensed about this issue.

regards
Sylvia