At-risk Post Office outlets named

Some rural post offices provide the only access to cash in their area

The Post Office has named 66 branches it proposes to close in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire under plans to shut 2,500 nationwide by the end of 2008.

The Post Office said 291 branches would remain open across the two counties and 18 "outreach" services would replace branches in smaller communities.

A six-week consultation is under way before a final decision is made.

About 99.3% of people in the area will face no changes or will remain within a mile of a branch, the Post Office said.

See full area plan [36KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here

Post office sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses began petitions and rallying the support of their MPs after the list of branches earmarked for closure in Oxfordshire was leaked last week.

The Post Office sent all Oxfordshire MPs a list of proposed closures in the county before the official announcement.

However it has been revealed that a further five branches will be replaced by "outreach services", taking the total number of branch closures across Oxfordshire to 27.

The government has said four million fewer people are using the current 14,000-strong network each week than two years ago.

Ministers say cuts are needed as the business has been losing £4m a week.

Christine Donnelly, who runs the post office in Great Milton and is secretary of Oxfordshire's Federation of Sub-Postmasters, has said people must find strong arguments for keeping their local branch open.

"They won't just take people saying 'we want to keep our local post office'."

'Fight the battle'

She said people must "come up with a reason why, for example, if they've mis-measured the distance to the next post office, or if they've assumed that there's a bus route that no longer runs.

"That's what Postwatch need to know about and Postwatch can then go out and fight the battle on behalf of the post offices."

There have been several regional announcements about post office closures across the UK since 2 October.

Mark Partington, Royal Mail's network development manager for Gloucestershire, said: "For all areas we feel that these proposals give us a good coverage that is accessible by all people."

The post office in Forthampton could be replaced by a mobile van, it has been revealed.

The closing date for sending feedback to the Post Office about Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire is 17 March 2008.