Is your Post Office about to close?

The Post Office has this week launched a consultation as part of its programme to close Post Offices across the country. The first areas to be consulted on include Kent, the East Midlands, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire – but the consultation will eventually cover all areas of the country.

The Government remains the largest shareholder in the Post Office and has laid down certain criteria about the closures, which will eventually mean 2,500 post offices closed. The criteria include the availability of public transport, alternative access to post office services, and the impact on local communities.

Recognising that there is a social role played by the Post Office, the Government has also committed £150m per year until 2011 to support the rural network. However the Campaign to Protect Rural England doubts this is sufficient: "despite buying a bit more time for the existing network, and acknowledging the complexity of local circumstances, in the end, many post offices will close. For many rural communities and the people that visit them on holiday, life will be made more difficult and communities will be put under greater strain."

A great source of information for consumers is Postwatch which contains lots of information about the proposals and how you can have your say. Postwatch aims to protect, promote and develop the interests of all customers of postal services in the UK.

The Communication Workers' Union (CWU), representing post office workers, has set out its concerns about the closures programme. As you may have noticed, post office workers have recently been taking industrial action against Post Office Ltd over pay and pensions. For more information on the dispute, visit the CWU website.

The RNIB is campaigning to "ensure that the closure process and alternative arrangements take into account the needs of blind and partially sighted people". Help the Aged also has concerns: "Post Offices are a vital lifeline for many older people and it is important that older people have their say on what happens in local communities."

Each local consultation will run for six weeks. For details of when the consultation starts in your area, visit the Royal Mail website.

For current consultations and details of how to respond, see the Post Office website.