‘Closures are an abuse of our rural communities’

9:14am Thursday 13th December 2007

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HUNDREDS of readers have joined the Gazette & Herald Counteraction campaign by signing the petition to stop the proposed closure of sub-post offices across Ryedale.

And the battle to stop the Government's plans to leave rural communities across Ryedale without a village post office is set to get another boost on Monday when the national park authority is expected to come out fighting.

Twelve sub-post offices are under threat of closure or face being replaced by what Post Office Ltd describes as "outreach services".

North York Moors National Park Authority is expected to come out fighting the closures when it meets next Monday.

Barry Hearsey, the park's planning officer, said closing post offices undermined the authority's aim to help rural communities. In addition, he said, closures meant people often had to use a car to get to the nearest sub-office especially where there was no public transport. "That goes against the current national policy which aims to reduce car use," he said in a report to members.

Post offices at Hawnby and Wass which face closure are combined with village shops. "Their closure could adversely affect the viability and continued operation of the shops."

Another post office facing closure in the park is at Fylingthorpe which is designated as a "service village" because of the services it is able to provide and which the park authority wants to protect, said Mr Hearsey. "Our aim is to protect community facilities."

Nick Turner, of Post Office Ltd, told the Yorkshire Coast and Moors Committee last Thursday that the public should write to PostWatch if they are opposed to the closures.

He said some offices only had 16 customers a week, which was costing the Post Office £17 per transaction.

Coun Robert Wainwright, chairman of Ryedale District Council's policy and resources committee said the authority's overview and scrutiny committee would be discussing the closure plans.

He said: "We consider the closure programme an abuse of our rural communities and rural life and we shall be urging Post Office Ltd to revoke its decision."

Meanwhile, Caroline Spelman, MP and chairman of the Conservative Party, on a visit to North Yorkshire, said the post office closures were "a big issue" across the country. She added: "North Yorkshire is particularly affected. The closures will hit rural communities particularly hard because of the distance between communities. Any pressure we can put on the Post Office and the Government now, is vital."

Sub offices facing closure in Ryedale are Church Street, Norton and Wass, while Weaverthorpe, Sherburn, West Heslerton, Allerston, Foxholes, Terrington, Huttons Ambo, Slingsby, Hawnby and Nunnington are due to be replaced with "outreach facilities". These, said Mr Turner, could either mean a mobile office visiting a village, or a sub-office switching to another business in a village such as a garage, shop, pub, or being run in a village hall.

The public consultation period on the proposed closures of offices runs until January 17.