Archived decisions

COUNTY COUNCIL 3 APRIL 2008 ITEM 9(c)

POST OFFICE CLOSURES

Councillor Collett to move:

This Council condemns recent decisions of Post Office Ltd:

(i) to go ahead with the closure of a further 40 Post Offices across Hampshire;

(ii) to add Whitsbury Branch to the list of proposed closures in place of Goodworth Clatford; and

(iii) to consult on a further three closures in Aldershot and Farnborough.

This Council notes the decision of Essex County Council to enter into negotiations with Post Office Ltd in a bid to explore the possibility of the County Council running post offices previously earmarked for closure in Essex. It also notes that Post Office Ltd have agreed to a two-month period of negotiation with Essex County Council and that the 32 post offices earmarked for closure in Essex will remain open during that period.

Recognising:

(i) the resolution agreed at our Council meeting on 22nd November 2007 - to develop a strategy to do everything we prudently can do to save post offices in Hampshire, including the investigation of opportunities to provide County Council services through Post Offices in order to help keep them as viable as possible; and

(ii) the vital role that post offices play in both rural and urban communities in Hampshire;

this Council resolves to open discussions as a matter of urgency with Post Office Ltd with a view to exploring the feasibility of the County Council taking over the running of the 44 Hampshire post offices currently threatened with closure.