Closed post office to be reopened

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7613729.stm

A post office that shut under a national closure programme is to reopen its doors after receiving help from the local county council.

The branch at Buckhurst Hill in Essex closed eight months ago, one of hundreds across Britain already shut down under a review of the network.

Now this post office, which is based in a convenience store, is the first to be reopened with the help of a council.

The Post Office said it had negotiated with Essex council for "many months".

The council is not allowed to subsidise the business, but it is providing grants that can be used to make modifications to the shop.

Essex County Council has set aside £1.5m with the aim of opening up to 15 branches which closed in the county.

Now 150 councils have contacted Essex about adopting similar rescue plans in their areas.

The BBC's local government correspondent, John Andrew, said the decision followed "long and sometimes tortuous negotiations" between the council and Post Office Limited.

"Some could reopen as counters in libraries or in community halls," our correspondent said.

Praful Chavda, who runs the store where the post office is located, said his customers will be pleased that a post office counter will be available again.

"When we closed a lot of my customers told me how strongly they felt about it and I had a lot of support," he said.

"It was a great shame we had to close, so when the opportunity came along from Essex County Council to reopen, I was pleased to accept the opportunity.

"Once word got around that we were reopening, I have had such positive comments from residents it has been really pleasing."

The council said that in many parts of Essex, the sub-post office is an important community facility as well as a commercial business.

Ongoing closures

A spokesman said: "Our experience of the closure programme is one that is characterised by confusion and uncertainty.

"Most local communities have continued to support the shops where the postal services were provided.

"Traders have reported a decline in business generally as well as unhappiness at having to turn away customers - both businesses and local residents.

"Post Offices in Essex support literally hundreds of high street traders and they offer the only remaining service for customers who wish to deposit cash.

"Many of these customers have been left wondering why the post office could not continue."

Some 2,500 post offices will shut by the end of the year under the current closure programme.

A Post Office spokesman said: "The Post Office has been in a constructive dialogue with Essex County Council for many months and we wish them every success in their venture."

[TrueBlueTerrier]

12 September 2008

http://www.cwu.org.uk/news.asp?step=3&NID=2112

Lucky Essex, but what about the rest of the country�s post offices?

On the weekend that Essex County Council reopens a post office earmarked for closure, the CWU warns that a consistent vision is needed to ensure a sustainable future for the post office network nationally.



Billy Hayes, general secretary, said: �Essex County Council has rightly identified the value that post offices bring to communities and businesses.



�However, while the people at Brockhurst Hill Epping now again have access to these services in their local community, many parts of the country are experiencing post office closures.



�Post office franchising, privatising and even local authority schemes further erode the national network by breaking it up and leaving offices at the mercy of annual budgets.



�We need a coherent national approach to ensure a sustainable future for the whole post office network.�

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/majorne ... opens.html

A post office which was shut under the controversial national closure programme is officially reopening, paid for by local taxpayers.


By Christopher Hope Home Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 4:30PM BST 12 Sep 2008


Campaigners now hope that hundreds more branches could be reopened, with more than 150 councils interested in the plans developed by Essex council.

The Government is midway through plans to close 2,500 post offices in a bid to cut losses in the network. However the plans have proved controversial with communities across the UK opposing the closures. Tens of thousands of Telegraph readers signed a petition in a bid to change the Government's mind.

The Station Way post office in Epping is the first branch to reopen under Essex's plans.

Lord Hanningfield, the leader of Essex Council, opened the branch for business earlier this week when he bought stamps for a postcard which he sent to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to announce the branch was open for business.

"This is a truly ground breaking and hugely significant development. I am very proud that we in Essex have been able to achieve, with the reopening of this branch, something that our residents feel so strongly about," he said.

"Post offices are at the heart of our communities and they play a vital role to many of our most vulnerable.The model used now provides a blueprint, should they wish, for others to follow."

Essex's plans were first announced in February but had then to navigate a path past strict European Union rules over state funding.

The council is hoping to save at least 15 of 31 branches closed earlier this year and has set aside up to £1.5million for the scheme. The plan is to open one a month by the end of next year.

Some post offices will be reopened on the same premises, while pubs, cricket clubs, libraries and shops will become home to branch in other cases.

Lord Hanningfield said: "One thing is clear. With the reopening of this branch, no-longer is it correct to speak of a national closure programme numbering 2,500. I'm delighted that Essex has bucked the trend."

Praful Chavda, the postmaster who had been running Station Way for 11 years, said his customers would be delighted that the branch had been reopened.

He said: "When we closed a lot of my customers told me how strongly they felt about it and I had a lot of support.

"Once word got around that we were re-opening I have had such positive comments from residents it has been really pleasing."

The Tories' post office spokesman Charles Hendry said: "We are delighted that they've been able to do this and as long as it can be paid for in the long term, it will clearly be a boost to the local community.

"This move exposes the Government's stale thinking and shows what happens when new and imaginative ideas emerge which can help more post offices survive."

Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "It is a huge step in the right direction.

"For many people, the Post Office is the lifeblood of the high street, and the role post offices play in helping people who conduct their financial affairs in cash is vital. The Post Office must ensure that it works closely with councils to ensure that decisions are made in the best interest of the people the post office network serves."

A Post Office spokesman said: "The Post Office has been in a constructive dialogue with Essex County Council for many months and we wish them every success in their venture."

A Department for Business spokesman said: "The arrangements to reopen this branch are between Post Office Limited, Essex County Council and the local operator who will run the branch.

"The Government has encouraged Post Office Ltd to talk to any local authority who may wish to fund a local operator to provide Post Office and other community services."