Post Offices
Post Office Network Change Programme in Gloucestershire
In May 2007 the post office network change programme was announced involving the closure of 2,500 post offices in Britain, with the view of making a more sustainable network. These closures will be spread across both rural and urban areas. Since this announcement Post Office Limited has been engaged in a staggered period of assessment and consultation to determine exactly which post offices should close. To do this Great Britain has been split into 39 areas with some areas being consulted and informed of final decisions before others have even started the process.
In each area Post Office Ltd will produce Area Plan Proposals, these will give a best fit plan for providing the post office service and will also list those outlined for closure. When this plan has been published a public consultation period of 6 weeks will commence so that the views of local people can be heard. The final decisions regarding closures will then be announced.
Once this programme is complete Post Office Ltd has stated that:
· 99% of the population will be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet and 90% will be within 1 mile.
· 99% of the total population in deprived urban areas across the UK to be within 1 mile of their nearest Post Office outlet.
· 95% of the total urban population across the UK to be within 1 mile of their nearest Post Office outlet
· 95% of the total rural population across the UK to be within 3 miles of their nearest Post Office outlet.
Please note that Post Office Ltd is providing outreach services in other areas of the country, where appropriate, as an alternative when a post office closes. These services are not guaranteed but may take one of the following forms:
· A mobile post office run form a van at a set time each week
· A hosted service run from premises by a third party, like a village hall. A sub postmaster will visit this fixed site to operate post office services at a set time each week.
· A partner service enabling a third party to provide a reduced range of services at an alternative venue in the village e.g. a pub.
· A home delivery service for very small communities where a sub postmaster will take orders by telephone for a reduced range of services and deliver them to the customer's home.
How will the programme affect Gloucestershire?
The Area Plan Proposal for Gloucestershire will be made public on the 5th February 2008. This will provide details of the proposed closures in the County. A public consultation period will then run for a duration of 6 weeks until the 17th March 2008.This will provide local people with an opportunity to have their say before a final decision is made.
It is really important that any communities which may be affected by a proposed closure respond to the consultation and are prepared in advance. This can be done in a number of ways which are outlined in the information flyer attached. This flyer has been prepared by the Rural Services Support Group (RSSG) which is a partnership of public private, voluntary and community sector organisations who aim to identify and address issues affecting rural services in Gloucestershire. The current focus being directed towards post offices.
The RSSG partners are currently investigating possible sources of funding to make expert advice available to shops that have an attached sub post office that is affected by the proposed closures. This would help the shop owners to make strong business decisions about the way forward and help to protect the future of the shop.
Following the announcement by Post Office Ltd on the 5th February any communities affected by proposed closures can access help and support, to investigate possible solutions through the RSSG.
Contact can be made with the group either through Katie Power, the Tewkesbury Borough Council representative on the group, Tel: 01684 272249/ Email: Katie.power@tewkesbury.gov.uk or Chris Cowcher, who heads up the group at Gloucester Rural Community Council (GRCC), Tel: 01452 528491/ Email: Christopherc@grcc.org.uk.
