MP to fight Post office closures

Closing 49 post offices in Sussex would be "absolutely wrong", according to an MP who has vowed to fight for them.

Tory MP Nicholas Soames made his comments during a visit to Post Offices in Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath.

Mr Soames said: "Each of the Post Offices that I visited plays an irreplaceable part in the community."

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

Mr Soames, who is MP for Mid-Sussex, said: "It is obvious that they are much more than Post Offices. They run effectively 'social services', particularly for the elderly and the disabled and they provide advice and help of a very high order.

These decisions by the Post Office appear to have been taken without any regard to the consequences for the communities affected. Nicholas Soames

"Not surprisingly each of the Post Offices that I visited command tremendous loyalty and affection for the very necessary services they provide.

"It would be absolutely wrong to close them and my evidence to the Post Office on their behalf will reflect these views."

"These decisions by the Post Office appear to have been taken without any regard to the consequences for the communities affected. I intend to make sure that that is not allowed," he added.

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

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

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

See no change

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

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.