Post offices face closure

Henthorn Road Post Office and Salford Post Office, Whalley Road, are both expected to shut by July after the Post Office began a six-week consultation on their futures.

Although the proposals have yet to be rubberstamped, the likelihood of them remaining open even if there is widespread public support is very slim.

Very few of the other urban post offices put up for closure nationally have remained open, prompting claims that the 'urban reinvention programme' consultation is little more than a sham.

Royal Mail says it has six urban post offices in the Ribble Valley -- mainly in Clitheroe - and claims that is too many. Post offices in the villages are treated as rural and are protected from closure for now. The Government's decision to pay benefits directly into people's banks has resulted in a massive downturn in trade at post office counters, prompting the review.

Both Henthorn Road and Salford post offices are in the Primrose ward of Clitheroe, and the plans have angered ward councillor Allan Knox.

He said: "They might look close to Clitheroe town centre on a map but they serve two very distinct communities. One of them is very close to two sheltered housing complexes and I think it is very unfair to expect the elderly to get into town just to get to the post office.

"Both are excellent facilities for the community and I find the idea of closing them outrageous."

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said: "Once more the people of the Ribble Valley are being hit by the closure of post offices. They cannot continue to shut down these vital assets to our community. The post office programme is nothing more than managed closures. I urge people to write to Postwatch, the watchdog, to highlight their dissatisfaction."

Eddie Herbert, head of the area Post Office, said: "The harsh reality is that many urban post offices are struggling to survive because there are too many branches for the amount of business."