Crunch meetings in battle for POs

Shropshire residents had the chance to make their views known on proposals for the closure of post offices at a number of special meetings held during one day by a county MP.

The first in a series of crunch meetings held by Ludlow Conservative MP Philip Dunne on the closure threat facing post offices in Shropshire was held at St Peter's Hall, Henley Road, Ludlow, yesterday.

Other meetings chaired by Mr Dunne were held at Craven Arms Community Centre, Lydbury North Village Hall, Worthen Village Hall and Worfield Recreation Hall.

About 60 people attended the meeting in Ludlow.

Mary Stewardson, a resident who uses East Hamlet Post Office, said: "I don't think the post office should be closed. A lot of old people live in this area."

Gwilym Butler, South Shropshire District Council's representative at the meeting, said: "We will put up a strong fight through the consultation until we get a fair deal for south Shropshire."

Stanley Hiles, of Henley Road, said: "We will have difficulty getting to another post office, we don't have any form of transport so I am definitely fighting the decision."

Resident Derrick Jenkyns, said: "East Hamlet is our post office. There are queues in there all the time, it is always busy, it serves a huge area. The only other one is in the town."

Another resident Katharine Lumsden said: "I'm absolutely appalled that the post office is being closed. It's always full and there's always a queue."

Peter Cook, from the Chamber of Trade, said: "The chamber has been working with Philip Dunne to see what we can do. We're fighting the decision of closure and will continue to work with Mr Dunne."

Frank Tipton worked in Ludlow Post Office for 30 years and in East Hamlet for six years. He said: "Everybody comes up to East Hamlet because nobody can park at the main one."

Mr Dunne said the meetings aimed to ensure that residents got the chance to make their views known to those making the decisions.