New campaign group fights Post Office closures- Council pressed to deliver on closure opposition

27th July 2008

On Wednesday July 30, Post Office campaigners will tell City Council leaders to "Put your money where your mouth is."

On behalf of the newly formed Sheffield Communities Against Post Office Closures (SCAPOC), Michael Bartholomew will present a further 4,000 petition signatures to the full council meeting. He will ask the council to act on the motion passed in June which asked the chief executive to report on "how the council can proactively support local post offices under threat of closure".

Mike says "The council say they are against closures - good. We want them to give us the information, statistics and resources to campaign against Post Office bosses plans. But if closures still go ahead despite public opposition, then we want the council to commit themselves to keeping post office services open in those local communities where they are needed."

SCAPOC was launched at a founding meeting last week as broad-based city-wide campaign involving representatives from the Socialist Party, Green Party, Communication Workers Union, Trades Council, Tenants and Residents Associations, and pensioners. Its main aim is to organise and co-ordinate opposition to post office closures which will be announced on August 5th for Sheffield and South Yorkshire (excluding Doncaster where 7 local branches have already been shut).

Spokesperson Alistair Tice says "We suspect that Post Office Ltd will want to close around 20 branches in Sheffield alone. They shut 7 in Doncaster earlier this year and now the waiting is that bad in the town's main post office that customers are issued with tickets numbering their place in the queue! We don't want that happening here. We're ready to fight to keep the peoples post office open to the public."

Green party councillor Bernard Little, who tabled the council motion in June, commented " It is vital that this is discussed in council on Wednesday. The consultation period is just 6 weeks and the council must have a clear, agreed strategy to protect services in Sheffield before the announcement on August 5. "

Photo from the Langwathby Scarecrow Festival

For more information, please contact Eamonn Ward on 0114 2311548 or Bernard Little on 0114 2340647 / 077584 53209