Gloucestershire has lost more than 80 POs in past decade

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THE number of Post Offices across Gloucestershire has plummeted by 37 per cent in the last decade.

Figures obtained by the Echo show the county has lost more than 80 branches over 10 years, from 217 to 136.

The loss has been put down to a cut in services by the Royal Mail and the success of the internet.

Cheltenham now has eight post offices compared with 18 in 2009, Tewkesbury has 14, down from 26, and the Cotswolds 38 instead of 51.

Gloucester has seen a fall from 24 to 14, the Forest of Dean, 49 to 32, and in Stroud it has gone from 49 to 30.


Pat Scannell, a member of Gloucestershire Pensioners' Forum branded the county's losses "disgusting".

In 2007 a Government-led scheme to reshape the network and put it on a more stable financial footing saw 2,500 branch closures nationwide.

Five hundred of these were replaced by outreach services, causing uproar among many communities opposed to the idea.

They said they were losing vital lifelines at the heart of their communities.

Mr Scannell said: "We were very opposed to the idea and petitioned our MPs for their support.

"The closures have been a huge loss to pensioners, not just for drawing money out but for the sociability they provided.

"I would love to see them revived but sadly I can't see this happening.

"The Government needs to look at ways of introducing more business to the post office."

Cotswold District Council Liberal Democrat opposition leader Paul Hodgkinson, who campaigned to keep south Cotswolds post offices said: "I do think there's still a place for post offices if they can be part of a vibrant one-stop shop offering different types of services for rural communities. Where there is a viable business going on that post office should remain.

"Stratton Post Office, at Cirencester, was actually making money and they chose to shut it.

"Even if a business isn't viable, often a community can look at what it's doing and make it more flexible by thinking laterally and creatively.

"Rendcomb and Colesbourne's shops are both doing well, they've retained post office services and survived because they have other services including a cash machine.

"A lot of post offices will survive but will be reincarnated as something more up-to-date.

"If you take them away there's nothing else for some people and a place just becomes a dormitory settlement."