Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden has today sent a strongly worded submission in support of Layton's Torsway Avenue post office and St Annes Road post office, South
Shore to the Post Office consultation team.
He has also written to Post Office Chief Executive Alan Cook setting out the reasons why neither sub-Post Office should be closed under the proposed closure plans.
Mr Marsden said "The submission that I have sent in is a mix of my own strong opinions on why these post offices should stay open, and also they are a reflection of the
views from constituents who have written to me and correspondence from the local Age Concern"
"The important points I highlighted were the impact on financial access for older people and pensioners and travel implications."
See below Gordon's official submission to the Post Office:
Proposed Closure of Post Offices in Blackpool South: St Annes Road, South Shore and Torsway Avenue, Layton
On January 25 I met at my constituency office at my request with representatives of Post Office Ltd’s Network Change team to discuss the above proposals for closure in Blackpool
South. On that occasion, I raised a number of concerns with the representatives present and asked about a number of the criteria applied, making it clear my strong views against
the proposed closures.
I am now writing to give you my further observations against the proposals, which also reflect representations I have received from individual constituents and local groups and
organizations, particularly those such as Age Concern and others representing older people and those with mobility problems. They have all, without exception, opposed those
closures strongly and indeed our local newspaper, the Blackpool Gazette, has both reported and co-ordinated thousands of responses and petitions against the closures in my constituency and across
the Fylde.
Previous Closures Context
These proposals from a second wave of closures in my constituency following on from those previously implemented. Coming on top of the closure of our Crown Post
office in the centre of Blackpool last autumn and its transfer to WH Smith premises which have proved seriously inadequate in access and mobility issues. These previous
deteriorations in service should in my view be borne in mind when considering these proposed closures – my constituents using both St Annes Road and the Torsway Avenue branches in Layton have
already been inconvenienced by those previous changes and many of my older residents and those with disabilities and mobility problems will be seriously affected given that both St. Annes
Road and Torsway Avenue serve as a focal point for social contact, use of non-change cash machines and other services both financial and post office.
Impact on Financial Access and on Older/Disabled People
The factors listed in the branch access reports for both St Annes Road and Torsway Avenue echo those concerns. The report on St. Annes Road admits that there is
no proximity to an ATM were the branch to close; that on Torsway Avenue says there is one in the convenience store next door (but does not say whether this is a free one or not) while the nearest
paypoint is 200 yards away. The areas that St Annes Road and Torsway serve both have a significant proportion of older and
retired people. In fact in my view the statistics quoted in the Access Report branch profiles underestimate the proportion of people in the retired category in the ‘within one
mile of branch’ category. I queried those at our meeting and was told that they were general figures from the 2001 Census which is now seven years out of date – other local
indicators and ward and sub-ward figures suggest much higher proportions of elderly people in the areas concerned. In addition, there has been no attempt to estimate what number
of people with mobility problems or disabilities might be affected by the closures – both categories in which Blackpool like many other seaside town, has above-average
numbers.
Travel and Mobility Implications of Closure
Closures of sub-post offices inevitable affect the social flexibility and mobility of users without cars. Again it is well-known that Blackpool has one of the
lowest proportions of car ownership in the North-West. I made this point at the meeting with Post Office representatives on January 25th and it is borne out by the
local statistics in your Branch Access Reports which confirm that nearly 4 out of 10 households in the Torsway Avenue and St. Annes Road areas (within 1 mile of the branch) do not have a private
car or van.
Level of Usage Statistics
These are very specific factors that should weigh strongly in favour of keeping these two branches open. In addition there is a fundamental failure to provide
details of the profitability or otherwise of the branches which might (or might not) substantiate the case for including them in a programme designed to reduce the overall losses in the urban post
office network. What we do know is that the St. Annes Branch has an average number of customer sessions of 1000-1499 per week, which is very close to the number of customer
sessions at several other branches in the Fylde that you propose to remain open.
Overall Impact on Local Communities
For all of these reasons I would argue that the two branches’ closure would impact disproportionately and particularly on the specific and vulnerable group of people I have
mentioned. Their closure as several of my constituents have put it would also increase carbon emissions, as more people have to use cars if available to travel further, as well
as taking away valuable hubs in the local community. The weaknesses of engagement and in the statistics provided by the Post Office in their own Branch Access Report are further
reasons why I join with my constituents in opposing most strongly those two closures – especially in the light of the previous deterioration of Post Office Services I have described – which is a
relevant additional factor in my view to the present deliberations.
28/02/2008
TAKE PART IN GORDON'S POST OFFICE POLL - CLICK HERE
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