Concerns over closure of over 200 Post Offices

MORE THAN 200 Post Offices have closed in the last two years – the equivalent of two a week, according to new research.

Citizens Advice said its study also found that 1,291 Post Offices are currently deemed “temporarily closed” but more than half of them have been shut for more than two years.

One in three rural Post Offices is now offered as a part-time outreach service, open for an average of just five and a half hours a week, said the consumer watchdog.

The Post Office said it does not accept the report accurately reflects its network of 11,500 branches that has been stable for a decade.

Citizens Advice said people have reported they now spend more time and money accessing Post Office services, feel a loss of independence and increased isolation since their local office shut.

They help many small businesses thrive, stop already-isolated communities being cut off entirely and enable people to carry out essential tasks.

One woman reported moving house after the local office closed as she was unable to afford the bus journey to the new one but soon after moving house the Post Office in her new village shut.

One man said the 90-minute journey to his nearest open Post Office meant he could only travel once a week.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Post Offices sit at the centre of our communities. Maintaining Post Office investment is crucial or the service will never keep pace with the needs of the communities it’s intended to serve.”

A Post Office spokesman said: “While banks and traditional retailers have reduced their presence on the high street and in towns and villages, Post Office is sustaining and strengthening its network across the UK.”