Final decision on post offices

Some branches will be replaced with mobile post office services

Two Torquay post offices have been saved from closure after Post Office Ltd published its final list of branches in Devon being shut.

However, the counters at Abbotskerswell and Moreleigh in South Devon are now earmarked for closure, despite not being on the original list.

The announcement that 37 branches across the county will shut follows a six week consultation period.

There has been strong opposition to the closures, designed to save money.

Wrong decision

The post offices at Chelston and Torre in Torquay are to remain open, despite having been originally proposed for closure.

A spokeswoman for Post Office Ltd said information they had received during the consultation period made them decide they had made the wrong decision and they should be kept open.

The 37 other branches which have been confirmed as closing will cease trading from August onwards.

A final decision on a further seven branches will be announced soon.

Gary Hepburn from Postwatch, the independent watchdog for postal services, said: "The process has been a fair one and people have been listened to across the patch."

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There will be a six-week consultation period for the Abbotskerswell and Moreleigh post offices starting in August.

Abbotskerswell's MP Richard Younger-Ross said the county was suffering more than most:

"Devon is losing more post offices than other parts of the country. On average 18% of post offices are closing, in Devon it is 22%.

"That is wrong, we are a large area, we need our post offices."

Post Office Ltd says it has no choice but to make the cuts after the government told it to close up to 2,500 branches in a bid to stem losses of £4m a week.

A total of 32 of the branches being closed will be replaced by outreach services, for example mobile post offices.