POST OFFICE CLOSURES 'WRONG HEADED' AFTER 'SHAM' CONSULTATION

11.42.58am GMT Tue 23rd Sep 2008

As the Post Office announces that they will be proceeding with closure of all of branches that were under threat in St Austell & Newquay, local MP Matthew Taylor has condemned the consultation as a 'sham' and the closures as 'totally wrong headed'.

Commenting, Matthew Taylor said:

"The consultation has been a sham, ignoring the overwhelming opposition of local people to the closure. The strength of feeling against the plans has been made very clear in spite of the Post Office's totally wrong headed decision to hold the consultation over the summer months when many local people are on holiday and Parliament is in Recess.

The news that all nine branches that were at risk in Truro & St Austell are to be closed means that the Post Office have failed to listen properly to even the cases that, according to their own criteria, should have stayed open. This service is especially vital to many elderly and disabled people who, it seems, the Government and the Post Office are all too happy to forget.

We are left now with the hope that the County Council's legal challenge will be more successful than the Post Office consultation in addressing the genuine concerns of local people."

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for St Austell & Newquay Stephen Gilbert added:

"The Post Office's announcement is a body blow to local communities. The result of the consultation shows that the process was a farce. The fight will now be continued through the courts to make the Post Office and Government listen for once. These post offices provide a vital service to many of the most vulnerable people here in Cornwall, and their needs should not be ignored in this way."