7 July 2008
Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has made his final representation to Post Office Ltd consultation on the proposed outreach hours for the Rendcomb Post Office.
The Rendcomb branch was one of the twelve Post Offices across the Cotswolds which the Post Office has confirmed will close but is one of the eight of those which will receive outreach.
Under the initial proposals Rendcomb was due to receive a mobile service for just three hours every Tuesday. The new proposals are for a partner service to be hosted in the current branch from 0800-1700 Monday to Friday and from 0800-1300 on Saturday.
In his letter to the Network Change Manager Mark Partington the MP noted that the original proposals were simply insufficient compensation, particularly for a village where the Post Master has already been working longer hours than he is paid for to serve the community.
During the original consultation Mr Clifton-Brown had suggested that short of keeping the branch open “the most satisfactory solution would be a partnership agreement, with more hours than currently proposed, to be hosted from the current premises.”
The proposed new opening hours are therefore very welcome and the MP strongly the Post Office to stick with this extension to the service.
However, Mr Clifton-Brown feels that behind this decision is the realisation that the Castle Street Branch in Cirencester simply cannot cope with the additional trade after the closure of the branches at Stratton and The Beeches.
The MP noted, “I have heard reports of people queuing for up to 45 minutes in Cirencester’s central post office. The extra outreach at Rendcomb is obviously welcome news to local residents and may take away some of the custom in the centre of Cirencester. Unfortunately, the reality for a great number of people from Cirencester and nearby villages is that the Post Office has made access to basic postal services a nightmare, which is exactly as I predicted”
The Rendcomb branch was one of the twelve Post Offices across the Cotswolds which the Post Office has confirmed will close but is one of the eight of those which will receive outreach.
Under the initial proposals Rendcomb was due to receive a mobile service for just three hours every Tuesday. The new proposals are for a partner service to be hosted in the current branch from 0800-1700 Monday to Friday and from 0800-1300 on Saturday.
In his letter to the Network Change Manager Mark Partington the MP noted that the original proposals were simply insufficient compensation, particularly for a village where the Post Master has already been working longer hours than he is paid for to serve the community.
During the original consultation Mr Clifton-Brown had suggested that short of keeping the branch open “the most satisfactory solution would be a partnership agreement, with more hours than currently proposed, to be hosted from the current premises.”
The proposed new opening hours are therefore very welcome and the MP strongly the Post Office to stick with this extension to the service.
However, Mr Clifton-Brown feels that behind this decision is the realisation that the Castle Street Branch in Cirencester simply cannot cope with the additional trade after the closure of the branches at Stratton and The Beeches.
The MP noted, “I have heard reports of people queuing for up to 45 minutes in Cirencester’s central post office. The extra outreach at Rendcomb is obviously welcome news to local residents and may take away some of the custom in the centre of Cirencester. Unfortunately, the reality for a great number of people from Cirencester and nearby villages is that the Post Office has made access to basic postal services a nightmare, which is exactly as I predicted”
