A ray of hope in post office closure battle

The following story appeared in the South Wales Echo on January 5th. Fair play to Echo Journalist David James for being ahead of the pack.

(Note, for more stories from the Echo please click on Media Wales in the Links section)

FOUR of the South Wales post office branches threatened with closure have been given a ray of hope.

Watchdog Postwatch has officially opposed plans to close four of the 31 branches affected by the brutal branch cull in the region.

The consumer body has demanded a review which the Post Office is obliged to carry out once the decision is announced at the end of January.

Postmasters at the four branches affected – Llantrisant; High Street, Barry; Splott Road, Cardiff, and Cogan Pill – gave the news a cautious welcome.

Colin Cranness, who has run the Swan Street branch in Llantrisant for 15 years, said: “It’s interesting, there’s hope. They are a good independent party to have on board.”

Yet the results of consultations on post office closure proposals in four different areas of England have been a blow to South Wales’ postmasters’ hopes.

Only 10 of 231 branches slated for closure in Kent, East Essex, East Midlands and East Yorkshire were given a reprieve following the six-week consultation in those areas.

And a different 10 post offices have now been named as replacement closures. In those areas, 51 of the closures are being reviewed under the agreement with Postwatch.

In a letter, Postwatch’s chairman in Wales Eifion Pritchard described the plans to close the four branches as “unsatisfactory” but stressed that the watchdog could not veto the proposals.

Plaid AM Chris Franks said he was disappointed the body had not objected to more closures.

He said: “While this news is welcome for the branches affected, it is bad news for the other post offices that the Westminster Government has sought to close.

“Because of the way the Government has planned this, if one post office is saved it is very likely that another will be forced to close.”

Pontypridd AM Jane Davidson, who represents Llantrisant, said she was encouraged by the news.

But Plaid AM Leanne Wood described it as a “mixed blessing” because it meant Postwatch was “effectively endorsing” the other 27 closures.

A decision on the Post Office closures is expected to be announced at the end of January and it is believed that the January 22 date has been pencilled in for the public announcement.

In total, a sixth of Britain’s post office branches will have to close under an agreement between the Post Office and the Government because of dwindling business.

Several local campaigns to save branches are still ongoing and journalist John Gilheaney has set up a site at savellantrisantpostoffice. blogspot.com to fight for the Swan Street branch.

david.james@mediawales.co.uk