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Readers slam Post Office closures plan
6:40am Monday 23rd April 2007
Comments (14)The decision to close Bournemouth and Poole's historic town centre post offices after more than a century of service has come under fire from Daily Echo readers.
We revealed on Saturday how the Victorian building in Post Office Road, Bournemouth and Poole's High Street branch will shut within the next 18 months as 70 post offices across the country are absorbed into branches of WH Smith.
Staff will be offered the chance to move to the new franchise offices, other posts in the Royal Mail or take redundancy.
Making his views known on our website, concerned reader Glenn from Poole said: "I have always regarded WH Smith as retailers of stationary and books, rather than retailers of mail and couriers. I guess I am just out of touch.
"I have endured horrendous waits in queues in both WH Smith and the Post Office. Why are post offices being closed?" He asked why the decision to close the Bournemouth and Poole town centre post offices had not been challenged by local politicians.
Jackie said: "Does this mean that they will have to re-name Post Office Road. They can't call it that anymore surely?
"This unfortunately has to be accepted as the changing face of Britain."
J Phillips from Bournemouth described the decision as "disgusting," adding: "Surely a post office is a post office and WH Smith a retailer.
"The floor space required at both Bournemouth and Poole will take up half the store. It seems they just want all post offices gone.
"There will be a queue halfway round the Square, blocking pavements. The queue in Bournemouth post office now often reaches the door."
The Westbourne post office on Seamoor Road will be the only crown (non-franchised) office left inside the BH postcode.
Nationwide, up to 3,000 jobs could be lost with the closure of 70 branches. More than 30 people are currently employed in the Bournemouth and Poole town centre post office branches.
Your Say YourBournemouth Echo
NICK, CANFORD HEATH says...
10:30am Mon 23 Apr 07
And don't expect any local politicians or councillors to oppose it, they are all useless anyway.
John Leighs, Bournemouth says...
10:55am Mon 23 Apr 07
The answer is that they know there is absolutely nothing they can do about it because the E.U. controls the levers of power right down to the local level via Whitehall.
Debbie Stent, Southbourne says...
11:01am Mon 23 Apr 07
the fewwho make bad decisions for the majority - and I bet they have PA's who post their mail for them, so they have no idea what it is like to queue!
beejay, poole says...
1:00pm Mon 23 Apr 07
Martin, Bournemouth says...
4:15pm Mon 23 Apr 07
I have been told that eBay is keeping the Post Office going, I can see why with the way they charge so much more now. Now if I have eBay items to send, I take them to Peter and Jenny at Columbia Road Post Office, leave them there to be dealt with, they ring me up and I go and pay - what a service.
However, more and more transactions are going online, like car taxation, TV licenses, and more. With this being done, there is less need to use the Post Office, as it seems to take account of numbers of persons using the service, or so I am told, to consider closure.
Surely, Bournemouth and Poole centres deserve post offices as a service to the community and visitors - what will the buildings now be used for? Possibly social housing or another wine bar/club. I can see the name "the Old Post Office" emblazoned across the front, and poledancers sprawled across the barriers where the queue once was, to entertain people in a way no Post Office could.
No, staying in the EU, where we are now toothless wonders has been a mistake; once we had an Empire - now we even have very few Post Offices - and they call this progress?
john england, says...
5:46pm Mon 23 Apr 07
John, Poole says...
6:34pm Mon 23 Apr 07
Alec, Dorset says...
7:51pm Mon 23 Apr 07
Rob, Pokesdown says...
12:42am Tue 24 Apr 07
It was our Government, the ones in Whitehall, who took away the main source of revenue from the Post Office, benefit payments.
It was TV licencing who took that money making activity away
DVLA, another Government Department, removed further work in connection with vehicle tax discs
Post Office Counters and Royal Mail are two separate businesses, so complaints about changes to postal regimes do not affect the Post Offices
None of the above factors has any connection with the EU, but the Eurosceptics dont want to think about anything other than Eurobashing
Glenn, Poole says...
6:27am Tue 24 Apr 07
John Leighs wrote:With respect John, that is a pretty lame reason for local politicians to simply roll over and play dead. Are they our elected representatives or merely trained Parlour Poodles, apologies in advance to Poodle owners? They could have taken it to Parliament via the route of our MP's. Poole is a conservative controlled Council and our MP is a conservative, I saw him on the night of his election and then in a leaflet last week. I guess local Post Offices and Local jobs don't rate highly for him. Truth is, either our councillors are plain stupid, unimaginative, in someone's pockets perhaps, lack guts or are just not bothered with trying. The question is which one. We also have MEP's, a good deal of use they are. This isn't a Continental breakfast, more a dogs dinner!
\"He asked why the decision to close the Bournemouth and Poole town centre post offices had not been challenged by local politicians\" The answer is that they know there is absolutely nothing they can do about it because the E.U. controls the levers of power right down to the local level via Whitehall.
NICK, LONDON says...
12:23pm Tue 24 Apr 07
June, Brittany, France says...
5:11pm Tue 24 Apr 07
Ian Walsh, Devon says...
7:29pm Wed 25 Apr 07
is that the government IS actually the British Arm of the EU... Once this fact is grasped everything falls into place...BTW here is the directive from the EU's own website
that has led to Our post office closures. http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/post/legislation_en.htm#200239ec
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bill, Swanage says...
9:09am Mon 23 Apr 07