Fantastic Turnout For Post Office Public Meeting

9.30.00pm GMT Tue 9th Sep 2008

Over 350 people turned out for the 'Save Warrender Park Road Post Office' Public Meeting on Tuesday 9 September at Marchmont St Giles Church. The meeting, chaired by local Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Pringle, heard from Sub-postmaster Graham Smalley who expressed his delighted at the fantastic turnout. He commented that the alternative post offices were not suitable, that parking at those offices was limited and that his office was one of only two in the city to provide a service on Saturday afternoon and the only one to remain open to 7:30pm on Saturdays.

The Chair of Chair of Marchmont and Sciennes Community Council delivered a detailed critique of the Royal Mail's analysis of the alternative offices and called for more people to submit objections. Mr Herbert and Julia Young from Royal Mail confirmed that should Warrender Park Road office close the area will meet the new access criteria set by the Department of Trade and Industry in May 2007 that all homes in the UK had to be within six miles of a post office.

The local Labour MP attended and he said that the three main issues that needed to be addressed by the City Council was the future of the 24 bus, the need for a council grant to provide step free access into the post office and for the council to consider subsiding the post office. He did not defend the decision to close post offices in general or his voting record in the House of Commons.

Questions were asked by a huge range of local people including the young and old, local traders, community representatives and politicians from four parties. "There is considerable anger at the new access criteria and the effect it will have" said local Liberal Democrat Fred Mackintosh "I asked who set these criteria and Julia Young of Royal Mail confirmed that it was the Government"

Royal Mail asked for real practical examples of the impact of closure on the community and of facts they would not be aware of and many were given. Over 140 people have already sent objections into the Lib Dem Team of Fred Mackintosh and Mike Pringle MSP and these will now be passed onto Royal Mail. Many of the people at the meeting took details of how to object and envelopes in which to send their objections.

Related Links:

Statement by Alistair Darling MP (then Labour Secretary of State) on Post Office - May 2007.

The Government Response to the national consultation on post office closures in May 2007.