Protesters rally to save Gloucestershire post office after

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Protesters rally to save Gloucestershire post office after Tesco rent row

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ANGRY protestors gathered outside Quedgeley post office yesterday after news spread that it was set to close in July.

Martin's newsagents and the post office could soon close, with staff there saying they believed rent increases were a factor.

Yesterday a staff member from Motor World, also in the Severn Vale Shopping Centre, also confirmed their head office was in negotiation with Tesco - also believed to be over rent increases.

A petition to keep the post office and newsagents had yesterday reached 1,500 signatures.

And more than 50 people gathered outside the post office to show that they wanted to find a way to keep their post office local.

Tricia Dobbs, 64, from Carters Orchard, said: "It's terrible news.

"I use the post office all the time. We have our newspaper delivered from Martin's, I come in here to buy cards and Hardwicke, where the nearest post office will be, is a long way to walk down the road."

Graham Johnson, 72, from Saddlers Road, said: "You see queues outside the post office in town. Sometimes it goes back as far as Iceland. I've been into town and seen them there queuing in the cold.

"There are a lot of elderly in Quedgeley. We don't want to see them join that."

Roger Langston, chairman of Quedgeley Parish Council, said: "Quedgeley has a population of 13,000 people and if the post office closes, where are people going to go?"

Janet Winfield, 72, a retired insurance clerk, from St James', said "It's the older people who will suffer the most."

Parmjit Dhanda, Labour MP candidate for Gloucester, said: "I've spoken to Tesco and they're very keen to keep a post office service there, and Royal Mail wants to keep a post office there too.

"Whether Martin's continues to provide it or whether another provider is found, I'm very confident that we'll find somewhere to run it. We've saved post offices in the past."

Michael Kissman, Tesco's corporate affairs manager, said Tesco had offered a new unit to Martin's as part of the redevelopment, and Martin's had declined without giving a reason.

He said: "We're very keen to enter into discussions with Martin's and the Post Office to see if we can find a way forward. Our door is open."

[Mr Love Pants]

Graham Johnson, 72, from Saddlers Road, said: "You see queues outside the post office in town. Sometimes it goes back as far as Iceland. I've been into town and seen them there queuing in the cold.


Now thats what i call a queue - all the way from Gloucester to Iceland.

[Lounge Lizard]

Graham Johnson, 72, from Saddlers Road, said: "You see queues outside the post office in town. Sometimes it goes back as far as Iceland. I've been into town and seen them there queuing in the cold.


Now thats what i call a queue - all the way from Gloucester to Iceland.

Yes, and many of the old codgers have been covered in ash lately.
Quedgely - something of a ghost town since the RAF closed their Maintanence unit there some years back.