'Vital lifelines': bid to save Lancashire post offices

Members of Lancashire County Council voted unanimously for the authority to write to the Post Office’s chief executive to demand that the so-called ‘crown’ outlets in Poulton-le-Fylde and Morecambe are spared.

The pair are amongst more than a hundred of the facilities – owned and operated directly by the Post Office rather than under franchise agreements with subpostmasters – slated to be shut down as part of a transformation plan announced late last year.

Morecambe South division representative Charlie Edwards said the disappearance of the main post office, on Victoria Street, would be deeply damaging to a town centre that had “survived better than others” – and even boasted a shopping precinct with “more occupied units than empty ones”.

Bringing a notice of motion on the issue, he quoted Morecambe Business Improvement District manager John O’Neill’s description of the post office as playing “a vital role in keeping people connected in a time when we are increasingly becoming disconnected”.

However, County Cllr Edwards said that as well as a “strong emotional argument” to save the branch, there was also an economic case for it.

“It’s a huge driver of footfall into the town, creating loads of jobs and supporting…cash businesses such as pubs, cafes and charity shops.

“Yes, of course you can go online to do your banking – but if you’re a pub and you run out of pound coins and you open in half an hour, there’s nowhere you can order that online.

“The post office[s] pick up what the banks leave behind.

“[Also], the back of the building is the Royal Mail sorting office, so it won’t be able to be sold for very much…so we’ll still have an empty building, still paying for it to be maintained,” he added.

Seconding the call for second thoughts, Poulton-le-Fylde county councillor Alf Clempson revealed that a petition to keep the town’s crown post office open in the Teanlowe Centre had attracted almost 3,700 signatures.

“It has easy access…convenient parking [and] a cash point – in a time, as we all know, [that] the banks have been closing and [taking their] cash points with them.

“This post office is a lifeline to many elderly residents and its closure would affect the whole community. People would be forced to use a small counter service post office [on Station Road] with limited parking which, in turn, would be dangerous due to the unsuitability of the location and all the road safety risks this will bring.

“Until very recently, the post office has been trusted by generations and closing this vital asset is no way to restore that confidence. Anything that can be done to retain this community lifeline must be done,” County Cllr Clempson implored.

Speaking in November when the closure of 115 branches was announced nationwide – as part of a wider overhaul of the service – Post Office chair Nigel Railton said it would help boost postmasters’ pay by adding £250m annually to their remuneration by 2030.