MP reveals that town's post office faces threat of closure

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/MP-reveals- ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

WHITSTABLE was dealt another blow this week as MP Julian Brazier announced that the town's post office was under threat.

He discovered the news during a joint meeting in Westminster with Royal Mail and Post Office bosses on Thursday.

The MP had been seeking assurances after the Royal Mail withdrew its guarantee that the Whitstable Post Office will be available for parcel collection following the proposed closure of the town's sorting office in Cromwell Road next year.

A furious Mr Brazier stormed: "It has now emerged that the future of Whitstable Post Office is unclear as its lease has expired and its landlord has decided to redevelop the site in Gladstone Road.

"Frankly, it is astonishing that this communication breakdown between the Post Office and Royal Mail could have occurred.

"Royal Mail has proposed two main options for undeliverable parcels: delivery to a neighbour or redelivery to the addressee later.

"There is also the option of having your parcel delivered to another post office to collect for £1.50.

"In other nearby areas where sorting offices have closed recently, Royal Mail has assured me that more than 90 per cent of participants were satisfied with the service they received using these options."

But he added: "The Post Office made it clear it has no intention of abandoning central Whitstable and will maintain an office, even if in temporary premises, until a new permanent facility is built."

The news was greeted with dismay by campaigning postman Chris Stone.

He said: "He tells us Royal Mail assures him 90 per cent of customers are satisfied with the service they receive.

"That's an interesting figure. I wonder where it comes from?

"If the Times surveyed its readers to find out if they were satisfied with the service in Herne Bay now that the office has moved to Canterbury, do you think that 90 per cent would say that they were? But, even assuming it is true, that still leaves 10 per cent who are not satisfied.

"The combined population of Whitstable and Herne Bay is around 65,000. That means that 6,500 people in the two towns will not be satisfied with the service.

That's a very large number of dissatisfied customers."

He added: "There are certain items of mail where a visit to Canterbury will be necessary, such as PO Box mail and mail which has incurred an excess charge.

"Imagine someone's annoyance on travelling to Canterbury – having taken two buses, or driven for half an hour each way – only to find on paying the excess charge that the item is something they didn't want in the first place.

"Staff at the Canterbury parcels office are already finding themselves subject to abuse from Herne Bay customers annoyed at the loss of their delivery office. Once the Whitstable office closes in February next year, the level of abuse is certain to rise."

[fishtank]

He said: "He tells us Royal Mail assures him 90 per cent of customers are satisfied with the service they receive.

"That's an interesting figure. I wonder where it comes from?

Should we tell him that the figure probably comes from the very dubious "Deliver To Neighbour" trial?
I think that might just piss him off some more.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Strange that you can't run for the job as Police Commissioner because of an offence of obstruction, yet you can still be an MP when he received a 4 month suspended sentence and 6 month driving ban in Italy after killing a motorcyclist. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1807891.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also any chance he will be using this to try and stay in his job next election, the figure he quoted is very close to his majority of 6,048.

[Lounge Lizard]

A furious Mr Brazier stormed: "It has now emerged that the future of Whitstable Post Office is unclear as its lease has expired and its landlord has decided to redevelop the site in Gladstone Road." But does the furious Mr Brazier seriously think that there will be NO Post Office in a town with a populatiuon of 30,000 ?

[Lounge Lizard]

Strange that you can't run for the job as Police Commissioner because of an offence of obstruction, yet you can still be an MP when he received a 4 month suspended sentence and 6 month driving ban in Italy after killing a motorcyclist. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1807891.stm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also any chance he will be using this to try and stay in his job next election, the figure he quoted is very close to his majority of 6,048.

Julian Brazier MP described the death as his "lapse of attention" and said "I hope to put this matter behind me" - which really is what we would expect of a Conservative MP.

[Stormproof]

Surprisingly it only has 50 pages, must have very small text