10 May 2011
Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown yesterday (9 May) officially opened a new Post Office in the village of Stratton, Gloucestershire.
The original Post Office in Stratton was closed in 2008 as part of a Network Closure Programme under the then Labour Government which saw 2,500 Post Offices close throughout the UK.
At the time Mr Clifton-Brown led the fight against the closure and has campaigned vigorously ever since to restore a Post Office service to Stratton.
The new Post Office Local is the first and, so far, only Post Office in the country to be restored after being included in the Network Closure Programme. Under the initiative, the investment is made by the shop owner, John Lafford, and the new Post Office will have opening times of 0700 BST to 2100 BST, seven days a week, providing increased convenience for customers and will also create 5 new jobs.
The opening of the new Post Office marks the end of the three year campaign for Mr Clifton-Brown, who was naturally delighted that the hard work involved has paid off.
Commenting on the event Mr Clifton-Brown said: “I was honoured to be asked by Stratton Stores owner, John Lafford, to officially open the new Stratton Post Office.”
“I fought long and hard against the original closure and was extremely disappointed when the closure was confirmed in 2008”
“Since then I have continued to press for the reinstatement of a Post Office service to Stratton. I entered into negotiations on this matter with Post Office representatives towards the end of last year and I am of course enormously pleased that this effort has finally born fruit.”
“Forcing customers to travel to Cirencester to access a Post Office caused a great deal of inconvenience for local people. The opening of this new Post Office is clearly excellent news for the local community and I wish John all the best in this new venture.”
“The local community now has a Post Office and it is important that they make good use of it.”
“I hope that a similar arrangement can now be reached to restore a Post Office service in The Beeches and I will now be working towards this particular goal.”
Photo: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Left) and John Lafford (Right), owner of Stratton Stores
The original Post Office in Stratton was closed in 2008 as part of a Network Closure Programme under the then Labour Government which saw 2,500 Post Offices close throughout the UK.
At the time Mr Clifton-Brown led the fight against the closure and has campaigned vigorously ever since to restore a Post Office service to Stratton.
The new Post Office Local is the first and, so far, only Post Office in the country to be restored after being included in the Network Closure Programme. Under the initiative, the investment is made by the shop owner, John Lafford, and the new Post Office will have opening times of 0700 BST to 2100 BST, seven days a week, providing increased convenience for customers and will also create 5 new jobs.
The opening of the new Post Office marks the end of the three year campaign for Mr Clifton-Brown, who was naturally delighted that the hard work involved has paid off.
Commenting on the event Mr Clifton-Brown said: “I was honoured to be asked by Stratton Stores owner, John Lafford, to officially open the new Stratton Post Office.”
“I fought long and hard against the original closure and was extremely disappointed when the closure was confirmed in 2008”
“Since then I have continued to press for the reinstatement of a Post Office service to Stratton. I entered into negotiations on this matter with Post Office representatives towards the end of last year and I am of course enormously pleased that this effort has finally born fruit.”
“Forcing customers to travel to Cirencester to access a Post Office caused a great deal of inconvenience for local people. The opening of this new Post Office is clearly excellent news for the local community and I wish John all the best in this new venture.”
“The local community now has a Post Office and it is important that they make good use of it.”
“I hope that a similar arrangement can now be reached to restore a Post Office service in The Beeches and I will now be working towards this particular goal.”
Photo: Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Left) and John Lafford (Right), owner of Stratton Stores
