Published: Thursday, 31st July, 2008 10:40
Post Office presses ahead with closures
By Peter Swindon
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The Post Office has confirmed it will close branches in Cowdenbeath, Cardenden, Kelty, and Crosshill.
A consultation was carried out after the original proposals were announced, but no concessions were made to the cuts planned in Fife.
Sixteen branches across the Kingdom will shut, including sub-post offices in Dalbeath Crescent, Cowdenbeath, Dundonald Supersave, Kelty Costcutters and Crosshill Costcutters.
The government told Post Office Ltd to close up to 2,500 branches in a bid to stem losses of £4m a week.
Council leader Peter Grant described the consultation as “a complete and utter sham”.
“It is clear Post Office bosses have ignored our views and those of the public whom they are meant to serve and gone ahead with this reckless closure programme which will do for the Post Office Network what Doctor Beeching did for the railways,” he said. “The public have embraced our new bill payment system and generated much needed income for post offices and shops across Fife – they are the only losers following this exercise.”
Sally Buchanan, Post Office Ltd’s Network Development Manager for Scotland, said: "These are difficult decisions which have not been taken lightly. We have considered very carefully all the comments made during the public consultation.
We believe that the amended plan offers our customers across Fife the best prospect for a sustainable network in the future, bearing in mind the UK Government’s minimum access criteria and the other factors it has asked us to consider."
The UK’s postal watchdog dealt a devastating blow to the campaign to save four branches when it endorsed cuts earlier this week. Postwatch chairman, Professor Alan Alexander, admitted he “accepts the rationale for the closure programme.”
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