6,000 people back fight to keep a post office open

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A BUSINESS leader has savaged Co-op chiefs for announcing the closure of Swadlincote’s post office.

Pat Murray, chairman of Swadlincote Chamber of Trade, blasted Tamworth Cooperative Society after bosses confirmed they would close the service and a clothing store, located in the same building on The Delph, on September 30, after years of ‘substantial losses’.

“It’s awful and bad news,” said the chamber chief, who is also a Tory member of South Derbyshire district and Derbyshire county councils.

“To take away a post office in a town growing so rapidly beggars belief. They should persist.

“The decision was made by people who don’t work or live in the town. If they had come down and spoken to the chamber we could have helped them.”

Councillor Murray claimed it would have been ‘a much better option’ for the Co-op to re-merchandise the clothing store and sell white goods, as the organisation had previously done from a shop once located on land now occupied by Sainsbury’s.

He said an alternative could be for the post office to be absorbed by half of Swadlincote’s Co-op-owned Somerfield store, space left vacant since a clothing company pulled out four months ago.

Councillor Murray said the level of public feeling about the issue was ‘astronomical’ and had persuaded him to continue gathering signatures for a petition demanding that a branch remains.

So far, he and fellow chamber chiefs have collected almost 6,000 names.

Councillor Murray said he had held talks with district council chief executive Frank McArdle and ‘appreciated very much’ his assurances the authority was doing everything in its power to keep a post office in town.

Responding to criticism the chamber should invest more of its energy into accommodating a post office rather than protesting about the threat to the existing branch, he said there was ‘a possibility’ a member could take it over and that the option had been broached with Mr McArdle.

Councillor Murray said he hoped a meeting could be arranged to discuss the option further.

“I’m hoping that somewhere along the line, with negotiations going on, that a new site or new premises will be found for the post office,” he said.

The public, he said, wanted to see the operation stay in the centre of town rather than be absorbed into one of Swadlincote’s two supermarkets, a move which would prevent many customers from accessing its services.

Co-op chiefs said they had ‘thoroughly explored’ all options but could not justify continuing to run a loss-making business in tough economic times.

[blackadder]

if the co-op want to either open a post office in there stores or not is no big concern of mine. what is, is the closer of the post offices that we run down the high streets and villages. that is what we have to protect