8:25am Monday 28th May 2007
By David Rankin
The next round in the fight to save local post offices has begun, amid fears the 2,500 proposed closures will hit local communities hard.
Richmond Park MP Susan Kramer said proposed closures would make an already bad situation worse.
Speaking as Liberal Democrat front bench spokeswoman for the Department of Trade and Industry, she said: "These measures further undermine access to post offices in our communities in Richmond and Kingston.
"The Government sees only a business in inevitable decline. Its plan is designed purely to save money and has nothing to do with meeting the long term needs of people who rely on post offices for essential services."
The Conservative opposition on Kingston Council has supported a campaign to extend the Government's consultation from six to 12 weeks.
They said post offices were likely to be an anchor for the local economy, with people accessing cash at post offices likely to spend it at nearby shops.
Councillor Howard Jones, leader of the Tories in Kingston, said: "Conservatives will not stand idly by as these important community and business focal points are axed.
"We will be asking whether the services they provide can be accessed by the customers in a different manner, for example outreach centres.
"We also support London councils campaign for a proper consultation on any proposed closure."
The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone joined the fight, calling for a reconsideration of plans and rejecting the proposal to change requirements that there be a post office within half a mile of all Londoners to one mile.
Mr Livingstone said: "Communities in both inner London and the outer suburbs rely on local post offices. Research has shown that closing post offices can lead to a cycle of economic decline in deprived urban areas."
More than 300 post offices have been closed in London in the last three years.
Kingston has already lost branches in South Lane and Elm Road in New Malden, Ewell Road, Tolworth, Ditton Hill, Surbiton, and the sub-post office in Tolworth Rise, Surbiton.
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