MP appalled at loss of Post Offices across SW15 area

amid fears of further closures

Local MP Justine Greening is pressing the Royal Mail and Ministers to guarantee that residents should not have to face any further post office closures after Ministerial parliamentary answers showed that Putney, Roehampton and Southfields has lost nearly half its post offices since 2002/3.  The number of local post offices has reduced from 18 post offices to just 10 post offices currently.  This is much worse than the 1 in 4 post offices lost across the rest of London during the first wave of post office closures.

Justine Greening MP campaigned with other residents to save post offices in Tildesley Road, Revelstoke Road and Montfort Place which were all eventually shut in spite of residents’ opposition.  She has condemned the Government’s proposals for a further wave of reduction in local post offices, vowing to fight on behalf of residents against any future proposed closures.

Justine says,
“Local post offices not only provide crucial services for our community, but generate business that supports other local community shops.  Following my recent meeting with PostWatch, I am greatly concerned that we will now lose even more of our post office network across Putney, Roehampton and Southfields.  We’ve lost an unacceptable number of post offices locally.  Ministers need to realise that with further closures, they are systematically cutting the heart out of our local communities.”

If the rate of closures seen in this first wave is repeated in the Governments proposals for a second wave of post office closures, then that would mean Putney, Roehampton and Southfields left with just 5 or 6 post offices serving a population of some 85,000 people – a totally inadequate level of service.

I am contacting the Managing Director of the Post Office to seek urgent confirmation that Putney, Roehampton and Southfields will not see any further closures.  Residents who want to be kept informed about the next wave of post office closures so they can have their say should get in touch with me by emailing greeningj@parliament.uk.”

October 31, 2007