A WYRE councillor has blamed Post Office closures on a lack of support from the community.
And Coun Roger Brooks says an independent Wyre Council report into the closure proposals found no case to keep open Calder Vale, Churchtown or Out Rawcliffe Post Offices.
Cabus representative Coun Brooks chaired a cross-party scrutiny committee looking into the Post Office closure programme on behalf of the council.
And he says that although the committee's full report wasn't made public, he has been moved to speak out this week about their findings to end what he called the 'political hand wringing' over the issue.
He was speaking as Post Office Ltd confirmed the closure dates for the local offices - Calder Vale on April 29, Out Rawcliffe on May 7 and Churchtown on May 12.
Coun Brooks says his committee's investigation concluded that only two Post Offices in the Wyre Council area could be saved - in Poulton and Fleetwood.
The scrutiny committee's findings were at odds with the council's earlier public line on the issue - which was to oppose ALL the proposed closures in the borough.
Wyre councillors backed a full council motion at the end of January urging the government to ditch the plans. The motion stated: "This council deplores the proposals to close five Post Office branches in Wyre Borough thus causing much inconvenience to the residents of the borough and calls upon the government to abandon the closure programme."
But Coun Brooks says his committee's investigations - which involved visiting all the threatened branches in the borough, gathering statistical evidence, seeking the views of ward councillors and a meeting with Richard Lynds, network development manager for Post Office Ltd - found that the three rural branches were simply not viable.
Coun Brooks said: "We came to the conclusion that together with the statistical evidence produced by the Post Office, it would be difficult to mount a case for retention.
"Sadly, I think the evidence points to the fact that local people do not support their Post Offices and it is uneconomic to keep them open.
"One is sentimental about the loss of a Post Office, and pubs and village shops as well, but I believe the decision has been made by the communities themselves."
Coun Brooks said he found it difficult to find the Churchtown branch, which is open two days a week. He said poor signage meant he was forced to make inquiries at three houses before being pointed in the right direction.
He continued: "It doesn't offer any other services except stamps, and then you have to go and post your letters at the other end of the village. I spoke to a young couple who said they don't use the Post Office - they are simply not customers and I think that is typical of younger families.
"It was a similar story at Out Rawcliffe. It is open two or three days a week and again has very limited services on offer. Most people still have to travel to the Post Office, even if they live in the village, because of where it is situated. It's probably as convenient to go to Garstang."
Coun Brooks was surprised to find how quiet the Calder Vale branch was, despite being located in a thriving village.
He said: "I thought it would be more vibrant, but I spent some time in there and it is not well patronised by the people living in the village.
"It offers more services than the other two, with a shop element selling various food stuffs, but the paper round is shrinking."
He added: "We looked at this issue from a totally non-political aspect - simply on the facts. It's all very well for parish councillors and MPs to wring
their hands about it and say the government is withdrawing services, but it comes down to the fact that people have found alternatives.
"As for the community aspect, I accept that very much, but you've got half empty churches, pubs and Post Offices - it's the way of life. That might sound defeatist, but that's the reality. If you want your local corner shop, you use it."
The scrutiny committee's findings informed the official Wyre Borough Council consultation response, submitted by Managing Director Jim Corry last month, in which the authority "expressed great concern'' about the prospect of further closures, but "recognised that businesses need to be sustainable''.
Mr Corry's letter continued: "The particular needs of disabled and older people living in rural areas are a cause for real concern.
"If further post office closures result, the sense of loss would be very significant[/img]