Meeting over post office closures

Sussex post offices on closure list

About 200 people turned out for a public meeting over plans to close post offices in Sussex.

Lewes council urged local people to ask questions at Monday's meeting, organised by Seaford Town Council.

The head of marketing and head of network services at Post Office Ltd were there to answer questions.

Forty nine branches across East and West Sussex are earmarked for closure under public consultation which ends on Christmas Eve.

After the meeting, Councillor Bob Sinclair said a service was being withdrawn "which is very important to the community of Seaford".

He said the area had "a high percentage of elderly people" who relied on the post office service.

'Cuts needed'

Post offices listed for closure include branches in Seaford, Newhaven, Lewes and Chailey.

At the start of the six-week consultation in Sussex last month, the Post Office said more than 99% of the area's population would either see no change, or would remain within a mile of a branch.

The government said cuts were needed because the post office network was losing £4m weekly.

Four million fewer people were using post offices each week than two years ago and losses had risen from £2m a week in 2005 to £4m a week last year, it added.

Lewes district councillor Jon Freeman has said thousands have signed a petition to be handed to Post Office Ltd.

"This council believes the recently announced closure programme is unnecessary and we are calling on the government to end the branch closure programme immediately," he said.