Post offices lose their fight for survival

12:38pm Friday 5th September 2008

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DISAPPOINTMENT has greeted the news that post offices in the Durham area are to be closed.

The Post Office has confirmed that among 80 branches shutting will be Gilesgate and Brancepeth Castle in the Durham City area; Manor Road, Medomsley, near Consett; Front Street, Grange Villa; Emmanuel House, South Pelaw, Chesterle- Street; Front Street, Tantobie; Church Street, Castleside, near Consett; and Front Street, Esh Village.

The branch at River View, Blackhall Mill, has won a reprieve after officials reviewed the issues raised in the consultation, but a branch in Newcastle will close instead so that the company hits its target number of closures.

Representations were made to keep some of the branches, particularly Gilesgate and Brancepeth Castle, but after six weeks of consultation the Post Office has stuck by its decision to shut them.

Adrian Wales, the company's network development manager for the region, said: "These are difficult decisions which have not been taken lightly. We have considered very carefully all the comments made during the public consultation. We believe that the plan offers our customers in this area the best prospect for a sustainable network in the future, bearing in mind the Government's minimum access criteria and the other factors the Government has asked us to consider.'' The city's Labour MP Roberta Blackman-Woods said: "It is a great shame that these two post offices have been confirmed as closing.

This is a decision taken by the Post Office in their desire to make their network sustainable but it isn't good news for Brancepeth and Gilesgate.

"I spoke directly to the Post Minister last week and have made representations to try and keep these particular post offices open because I believed they served their communities well, but unfortunately it has been confirmed that they will be closing.

"I will continue to try and find alternative solutions for Gilesgate and Brancepeth by talking to other retailers in the areas to see if a counter service can be maintained.

"If the Lib Dems are seeking to make political capital out of this situation, it is worth remembering that they want to privatise half of the Post Office but not address the sustainability of the network which is a completely unworkable idea.

And they owe the people of Durham an apology for scaremongering when they suggested their local post office might close in areas where the post office was not under threat."

Liberal Democrat-controlled Durham City Council opposed the closures and the council's deputy leader Carol Woods, the party's parliamentary candidate for the city, said: "It is terrible, it just means consultation doesn't mean consultation.

They rarely change their mind on any proposals.

"It will erode the community in both places. It is one less amenity that they will have.

People who are fully mobile don't realise how important it is for people how are less mobile to have services near them.'' She pointed out that earlier this year the MP had joined many Labour colleagues in voting against a Tory proposal to stop the closure programme.

North Durham Labour MP Kevan Jones said the most controversial closure in his constituency had been the loss of the branch at South Pelaw, Chester-le-Street, which serves a large population of pensioners.

He said: " I am extremely disappointed that the representations made by the communities have been ignored.'' Coun Neil Foster, Durham County Council's cabinet member for economic regeneration and community cohesion, said there was a "sad inevitability" about the announcement.

He said: "It was small community concerns versus the national policy of a corporate giant, and it was always going to be a one-sided struggle.

The following branches will be replaced by an outreach outlet: Ancroft; Bamburgh; Bardon Mill; Belsay; Blanchland; Colwell; Doddington, Fourstones; Gilsland; Humshaugh; Langley-on- Tyne; Longhorsley; Lowick; Milfield; Netherton; Newton; Norham; North Charlton; Rookhope; Scots Gap; Slaley; Stannington; Whalton.

The following branches will now close: Longframlington (temporarily closed); North Broomhill (temporarily closed); North Sunderland; Scremerston; Crookhill; Ryton; Winlaton Mill; Bates Cottages, Holywell; Nelson Village, Cramlington; Brancepeth; Gilesgate, Durham; Easington Colliery; Salters Lane; Yoden Road (temporarily closed); Allerdene; Sheriff Hill; Horsley; Otterburn (temporarily closed); Ovingham; Sinderhope; West Wylam Colliery; Whitfield (temporarily closed); Hetton Road, Houghton-le-Spring (to be replaced by outreach outlet on trial basis); The Drive, Washington; Station Road, East Boldon; Victoria Road West, Hebburn; Clayton Road, Howard Street, Kenton Road, University of Newcastle, all Newcastle; Brunswick Village; Hollywood Avenue, Newcastle; Walbottle; West Denton; Grange Villa, Chester Le Street; South Pelaw; Tantobie; Castleside (temporarily closed); Esh; Helmington Row; Low Willington; Medomsley; Stanley, Crook; Sunnybrow; Harton Village, South Shields; Westoe Road, South Shields; Mere Knolls Road, Sunderland; Millfield, Sunderland; Seaburn (temporarily closed); Sunderland Road, Gateshead; Monkseaton; Wilton Drive, Whitley Bay; College Place, Ashington; Mitford (temporarily closed); Scotland Gate, Choppington; St Mary's Field, Morpeth.