Post office closures cut community ties, says watchdog

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The closure of local post offices has broken community ties and hit people hard, especially the vulnerable, says research by a watchdog group.

Consumer Focus Wales found elderly people, those with disabilities or health problems and poorer people were less able to access services.

They also became more isolated and lonely, the report said, and called for an end to post office closures.

The Post Office said it was improving its range of services.

The Post Office Network Change Programme was a UK government-led initiative to "modernise and reshape" the network.

About 2,500 branches were closed in the UK during an 18-month period from October 2007. In Wales, 157 were shut.

Maria Battle, senior director of Consumer Focus Wales, said: "Our research shows the real detriment people face, especially vulnerable people, when their local post offices are closed.

"We found examples of people who relied on public transport or who were elderly or disabled and struggled to access services."

The report said that consumers forced to move to another post office complained about experiencing longer queues and an impersonal service.

Those with health problems found it difficult to queue for long periods or to walk the extra distance to the new post office without assistance.

The closure of the local post office also led to far fewer opportunities for social interaction, with people reporting an increase in isolation and loneliness.
One user, Glyndwr Vaughan said that after his local branch closed in Eglwyswrw, Pembrokeshire, elderly people lost a person they could trust in their post-mistress.

He said staff used to go beyond what was expected of her to help them, such as showing them how to fill out forms.

He said the loss of the post office had a "tremendous impact" on the village.

"Because it wasn't just a shop and a post office, it was also a community centre where people met, where they discussed various news concerning the community, where they were concerned about their neighbours," he said.

"They knew what was happening and everything that happened in the village, it started in the post office more or less."

'No more closures'

Now, he said, the community resembled a "dead village, with nobody about and just traffic passing through".

Ms Battle said the research, which was gathered from focus groups around Wales, showed an urgent need not to close any more branches.

"There remains a strong preference among a significant proportion of consumers to continue to receive services face-to-face in their local community, rather than accessing it on-line or over the phone," she said.

A spokesperson for Post Office Ltd said "detailed consideration" was given to the needs of vulnerable customers during the closure programme, which they said affected fewer than 1% of the population.

"Here in Wales we, and our subpostmasters, are developing strong links with the Welsh Assembly Government and local authorities.

"These are aimed at improving the range of services offered to our customers and to make their branches more viable, which will result in a more stable network.

"Many branches, for example, have received funding from the Welsh Assembly Government's Post Office Diversification Fund to develop new retail services and environment for their customers.

"In addition, Post Office Ltd are now working with BT in trials, giving access to broadband in rural areas and trialling new services for local authorities who are able to use our network of branches as access points for their services."