Bath MP Don Foster is calling for the Conservative-led Council to live up to its promise in June 2008 to investigate ways of supporting the remaining Post Office network in B&NES.
Commenting Don said that although our campaign saved two local Post Offices in Bath, more needs to be done to support the remaining Post Offices and to campaign for a new one in the Southgate development. But despite the council’s promise to investigate local opportunities, little has been done.
Councils around the country are looking at ways of using their local Post Offices to deliver council services, advice and support. Liberal Democrats in Leeds use Post Offices to issue school uniform vouchers to parents without bank accounts. In the Vale of White Horse payments to the Council can be made into local post offices. In Essex the council has even re-opened a Post Office to deliver council services.
Numerous other councils are developing bright ideas. But after six months we understand no independent sub-postmasters in Bath have been contacted by our Council to find out what would most help them. During the closure programme earlier this year we were all delighted to hear that the Council was going to look seriously at offering further Council services through local post offices. Sadly, Don and we are now left thinking that this was nothing more than a cheap political statement at the time.
Post Offices were big news earlier this year during the closure programme, and everyone wanted to talk about them. However, now they are off the ‘political radar’ it seems that the Conservatives are hoping that we have all forgotten their promises at the time. Post Offices, such as our one on Moorland Road, are a vitally important part of the local community, and in this economic downturn independent post offices need help just as much as other small businesses.
Is it too much to ask of the Council for them to come up with at least some ideas within 6 months of what they described as an “urgent review”? During the closure programme the Tories did little in the campaign to save local post offices in Bath. Now they are seemingly doing even less. Clearly the new Conservative motto ‘Doing nothing is not an option’ doesn’t apply here!