Postal depots at risk of closure could be occupied

[CJStone]

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/where/herne ... ticle.html

More than 250 signed a petition in an hour on Saturday to keep depots in Whitstable and Herne Bay.
Among the supporters are the city council’s Labour leader, Julia Seath from Whitstable and Steve Furber, chairman of Whitstable Labour Club.
Mr Furber said: “People were queuing to sign. The response on the street was fantastic.”

Campaigners have warned that Whitstable and Herne Bay residents will face a nightmare journey to collect parcels from Canterbury if the two towns’ delivery depots are closed.
A bid to protect the Cromwell Road office was launched at a packed meeting at Whitstable Labour Club on November 23.
Royal Mail plans to shut both the Whitstable and Herne Bay sorting offices and transfer operations to Military Road, Canterbury.
A major new sorting office is to be built at Rochester which will free-up space at Canterbury for Herne Bay and Whitstable post and parcels.
A postman attacked Royal Mail’s failure to recognise the worth of local postmen.
He said: “They are taking the knowledge away from the postmen and the relationships we have with our customers.”
He said the depots were closing because they were too small to take the new walk-sequencing machines being introduced to modernise the service.
Royal Mail’s own figures show the number of letters is dropping but the number of packages is increasing because of online shopping.
Paul Brandon, chairman of the Right to Work campaign has warned depots at risk could be occupied by protesters.
The protest stall will be setting up in Whitstable again on Saturday December 18. The next campaign meeting is at Whitstable Labour Club in Belmont Road at 7.30pm on Wednesday December 15.
Posters and petitions can be collected from Herbaceous, Oxford Street and the Labour Club.
For more details, e-mail Mr Stone at christopherston@gmail.com