Abbeville Residents Speak Out on Local Branch Closure (Chris Nicholson)

Abbeville Residents Speak Out on Local Branch Closure

March 28, 2008 4:13 PM

A packed-out public meeting was held yesterday (27th) over proposals to close down Abbeville Post Office. The meeting, held at the Church of the Holy Spirit and organised by local resident and Liberal Democrat campaigner Chris Nicholson and Mr and Mrs Patel, the owners of Abbeville Post Office, attracted around 200 local people who came to voice their opposition to the closure plan.

Speakers at the meeting included Chris Nicholson, Shailesh Patel of Abbeville Post Office, and representatives from Post Office Ltd Mark Lawrence and Sally Hopkins. Local representatives from all three main political parties were also in attendance.

Mr Patel pointed out serious flaws in the Post Office's branch access report on Abbeville Post Office such as inaccurate details on the post office's opening times and number of serving counters.

Flyer for Public Meeting on Abbeville Post Office Concern was also voiced from the floor about the difficult access to alternative post offices in the area especially for older people and those with young children. Several local residents all pointed out that neighbouring post offices, such as the one on Clapham High Street, were unlikely to cope with the volume of extra business if Abbeville and other post offices in the area were shut.

The 7.30pm meeting lasted for just over two hours during which time dozens of local residents stood up and delivered a strong message of opposition to the proposed closure.

Speaking about the meeting, Chris Nicholson said:

"I was extremely encouraged to see how many people attended this meeting - it just goes to show how important Abbeville Post Office is to this distinctive local community."

"I hope the representatives from Post Office Ltd will go back to their HQ with a clear sense of our opposition to closing this post office, and of the importance of getting their facts right when making these decisions!"

"Unfortunately it is this Labour government that is driving through these 171 closures in London; they simply don't understand that these plans are ripping the hearts out of our communities."

Notes

The Post Office Ltd has been charged by the government with closing around 2500 post offices nationwide. 171 of these closures will be in London. Consultation on local closure plans is set to end on April the 2nd with final decisions on which post offices will be shut being made in May.