8:00am Tuesday 12th February 2008
By Catherine Priestley
POST offices in much of the region will find out their fate when bosses announce proposed closures at 10am today.
The axe is expected to fall on dozens of branches in south Durham, east Cleveland and Richmond as part of nationwide cost-cutting by the Post Office network.
Last year, the Government started a review that could result in the closure of 2,500 branches nationwide.
The Government said the cuts were needed because the business was losing millions of pounds a week as fewer people use it for traditional services such as benefits payments.
On Friday, Post Office Limited confirmed details of 40 closures in parts of North Yorkshire.
Twenty-two branches will close, and a further 18 will be replaced by outreach services.
The closures, which affect the constituencies of the Vale of York, Ryedale, Scarborough and Whitby, Skipton and Ripon, York City and Harrogate and Knaresborough, were the first to be announced in the region.
The proposed closures to be announced today include branches in Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, Redcar, Richmond, Sedgefield, Stockton North and Stockton South.
The Post Office will hold six weeks of consultations before it makes final decisions.
Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman yesterday visited as many of the threatened branches in her constituency as she could.
She has launched a petition available in those post offices and at http://helengoodman.co.uk She also wants to hear people's views, which she will pass on to officials.
She said: "I think the Post Office needs to keep in mind that they are a public service.
"The people who will be most badly affected are those without cars, in particular older people and young people with children who most need their services.
"I am very concerned about the impact on local communities and I am going to be very interested in people's reactions. I think they are not going to like this.
"There are just one or two I understand why they are considering closing, but I think the majority should stay."
Post Office Ltd said that after the closures, 90 per cent of the population will remain within a mile of their nearest branch and 99 per cent will be within three miles.
The Post Office is hoping to compensate for the loss of branches in rural areas by establishing 500 outreach services, including a mobile centre.
Post Office closures announced
A LIST of Post Offices to close in the region has been released this morning.
The axe is expected to fall on 37 branches in Cleveland, South Durham and Richmond as part of a nation wide money saving review of the network.
A further two branches would be replaced with outreach services, leaving 196 post offices in this area unaffected by the proposals.
Adrian Wales, Post Office Ltd's network development manager for the North East, said: "We believe these proposals offer the best prospect for a sustainable way forward for Post Office services in this area, bearing in mind the minimum access criteria and the other factors we have to take into account."
The following Post Office branches are proposed for closure as part of this Area Plan:
Bolam, School House, Bolam, Darlington,
Boldron, Kilmond View, Boldron, Barnard Castle.
Hutton Magna, Plum Tree Cottage, Hutton Magna, Richmond.
Jubilee Fields, 38 Coronation Avenue, Shildon.
Kirk Merrington (Temporarily closed), 14 Front Street, Kirk Merrington, Spennymoor.
Leeholme, 95 Leeholme Road, Leeholme, Bishop Auckland.
Page Bank, Jesmond House, Whitworth, Spennymoor.
Romaldkirk, The Kirk Inn, Romaldirk, Barnard Castle.
South Church, 94 St Andrews Road, South Church, Bishop Auckland.
Toft Hill, 149 Toft Hill, Bishop Auckland.
Tudhoe Colliery, 18 Attwood Terrace, Spennymoor.
Winston, 3 Richardson Close, Winston.
Darlington, Cleveland Terrace, 17-19 Cleveland Terrace, Darlington.
Hopetown, 7 Brinkburn Road, Darlington.
Milbank, 37 Pierremont Crescent, Darlington.
Elwick Road, 79 Elwick Road, Hartlepool.
Hart, 1 Front Street, Hart, Hartlepool.
Raby Estate, 43 Chatham Road, Hartlepool.
Roman Road, 41 Roman Road, Middlesbrough.
Charltons, Charltons, Saltburn-By-The-Sea.
Moorsholm, 44 High Street, Moorsholm, Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
Lazenby, Lazenby Post Office, 23 High Street, Lazenby, Middlesbrough.
Park Avenue, Park Avenue, Redcar.
Brompton, 2 Northallerton Road, Brompton, Northallerton.
North End, 47 High Street, Northallerton.
Seamer, 29 The Green, Seamer, Middlesbrough.
Waitwith, Plumor Road, Catterick Garrison.
West End Richmond, 1 Reeth Road, Richmond.
Croft, 12 Tees View, Hurworth Place, Darlington.
Heighington, Village Hall, Darlington Road, Heighington Village, Newton Aycliffe.
Hutton Henry, Front Street, Hutton Henry, Hartlepool.
Simpasture, 5 Simpasture Gate, Newton Aycliffe.
Cowpen Estate, 29 Cowpen Lane, Billingham.
Thorpe Thewles, The Post Office, Thorpe Thewles, Stockton-On-Tees.
Wolviston Court, 4 Clifton Avenue, Billingham.
Long Newton, The Wilson Institute, Village Hall, Darlington Road, Long Newton, Stockton-On-Tees.
Oxbridge Lane, 81 Oxbridge Lane, Stockton-On-Tees.
The following Post Office branches are proposed for replacement by an outreach outlet: Osmotherley, The Top Shop, 15 North End, Osmotherley, Northallerton.
Swainby, 90 High Street, Swainby, Northallerton.
A six-week public consultation period for the plan begins today.
To express their views people should write to Adrian Wales, Network Development Manager, c/o National Consultation Team, Freepost Consultation Team; email consultation@postoffice.co.uk or call the Customer Helpline 08457-223344.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk