JULIA CONDEMNS GOVERNMENT CLOSURE OF LOCAL POST OFFICES

1.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 23rd Sep 2008

Julia has condemned the planned closure of four local Post Offices at Budock Water, Killigrew Street, Bar Road and Flushing.

The Post offices are set to close unless a judicial review into the closure programme, led by Cornwall County Council, is granted next week.

Budock and Flushing will close within the next few weeks, but the closures of Killigrew Street and Bar Road will be postponed until Post Office Ltd decides whether to move the main Falmouth branch from The Moor to a nearby supermarket.

Commenting, Julia said: "Today marks another sad chapter in a long history of consecutive Governments forcing through the erosion of this vital network.

"Post Offices are vital services in rural areas, and the Government's failure to recognise this demonstrates how little it understands of our local communities.

"Hundreds of local people have written letters offering clear evidence of why their Post Office should be saved, and, except for one branch in Redruth, they have been ignored.

"Here in Falmouth, it adds insult to injury that the closure of Killigrew Street and Bar Post Offices will be further prolonged while Post Office Ltd decides what to do with the Moor branch."

However, Julia strongly praised local people for their hard work and community spirit in their campaign against the closures.

She said: "I have been so impressed with the commitment and tenacity of local people in trying to save their Post Offices. It has been a privilege to campaign with them on this issue.

"Everyone who supported their local Post Office is a credit to their community and should be proud of their efforts.

"I will continue to do all I can to explore every possible alternative to ensure that some services are retained and that local people do not lose out."

Terrye Terverson, the Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Falmouth, added: "Elderly people living in the communities affected by the Post Office's decision will be devastated by the closure of what represented for many of them an invaluable life line.

"These closures cut back on the independence and ability of elderly and disabled members of local communities to make the short trips that make their daily lives easier.

"This is another nail in the coffin of community life here in Cornwall but we haven't finished fighting this. The County Council legal challenge may yet force the Post Office to listen."