COUNCILLORS are protesting against a proposal to close a Spennymoor post office next month.

Mount Pleasant post office, in Weardale Street, faces closure in October as part of a national restructuring scheme.

But Spennymoor Town Council is calling on Post Office Limited to save the post office, which it says will be a huge loss to people living in the area.

Councillors are especially concerned that the loss of the post office would cause problems for elderly residents.

Alistair Franks, a spokesman for Spennymoor Town Council, said: "We have written to Post Office Limited because we strongly oppose the proposals to close Mount Pleasant.

"It is in the catchment area of two sheltered housing schemes, Mount Pleasant Court and Butterby Grange, where residents are elderly and infirm, and it also serves more than 110 older people's bungalows and flats.

"It is also on the route to Tudhoe Moor Nursery School and a lot of parents are able to collect various allowances and run errands when walking to and from school.

"Closure would be a great inconvenience for lots of these people if they had to get to the two alternative post offices in the Spennymoor area."

Mr Franks said councillors, who discussed the proposals at a meeting on Tuesday night, were concerned that travelling to the Tudhoe Colliery branch meant walking almost a mile down a hill and back, and that there was no direct bus link.

A second branch, Spennymoor Post Office, in Oxford Road, is already extremely busy and often has people queuing out of the door, said Mr Franks.

David Mellows-Facer, head of area for Post Office Limited, said that the closure proposal had been made because of falling customer numbers, increased running costs and more choices for customers about how to receive Government benefits.

He said that the subpostmaster was in agreement with the company and that closure could safeguard other local branches.

A spokesman for Post Office Limited said yesterday: "We are still in a consultation period and will listen carefully to all points of view before taking an important decision like this."

Residents have until Sunday, September 21, to make representations by writing to Mr Mellows-Facer, National Consultation Team, PO Box 641, St Albans, AL1 5XN.