Graham has obtained a copy of a letter sent by Postwatch officials to Post Office Ltd detailing their concerns about the closure of the Grovehill site.

The job of Postwatch is to act as the voice of the consumer throughout the consultation period. In the letter, sent on 23rd November 2007, it said that “there has been a very strong reaction to this proposed closure from local customers and businesses using this branch. It seems profitable and serves a growing community.

“Postwatch Northern England is concerned about the ability of the main central branch in Beverley to cope with additional customers and access difficulties that will arise. Postwatch Northern England looks forward to Post Office Ltd setting out how it has taken into account the numerous customer concerns raised in connection to the proposed closure of Grovehill Road PO, particularly regarding access for elderly and disabled customers to alternative branches.”

It then went on to list, in its Appendix, a number of issues and concerns. These included:

Questions about why a viable PO has been proposed for closure
Four branches already lost around Beverley
Post Office Ltd wasting money on advertising
Grovehill Road PO is not a Post Office political football
The heart will be ripped out of the community
Problems for the elderly
Already queues in town (10-15 mins)
Most reluctant to use or do not have access to the internet
Too far to walk
Not all people have cars
Difficulty parking in central Beverley
Costly to park in town
Not near supermarkets so need to travel twice
Grovehill Road being used by local businesses
New business growth and development planned
Access to town will make matters worse
Problems of access for disabled and at risk groups
Railway to cross
Too far to walk
Can’t rely on bus service
The fact that the branch is situated in a densely populated area
Not as wealthy as other parts of town who will retain their PO
Where is the Government’s care in the community
We all like our present PO and the people who run it

Despite these concerns, Post Office Ltd has confirmed that the Grovehill Road branch will be closing sometime in 2008. Postwatch has the option of initiating a review process with Post Office Ltd. This can be done when it has demonstrated that Post Office Ltd has not given due consideration to material evidence received during the public consultation, or where evidence emerges that a closure proposal does not meet the Government’s policy requirements, particularly with respect to the minimum distance access criteria specified by the Government.

However, Postwatch has to date requested a review process for branches in the constituency of Doncaster Central only. Graham plans to meet with Judith Donovan CBE, the Regional Chairman of Postwatch, to ask that she request a review process for the branches in Beverley and Holderness.

He said, “This letter is yet more proof that the decision to close the Grovehill Road branch is the wrong one. Postwatch have identified a number of reasons why the branch should stay open and for the Post Office simply to look the other way is extremely disappointing. I’m hopeful that I can meet with Judith Donovan within the next couple of weeks and put across yet again our concerns that this is the wrong thing to do. We might then be able to press for a review into the initial decision. We can only hope that this will put more pressure to bear on the Post Office bosses.”

Graham has also seized on Postwatch’s decision to oppose the establishment of 4-hour outreach services at 24 locations across the region, including Lockington. Claiming that Post Office Ltd has provided insufficient information on the proposed services, Postwatch concluded that it had “no option but to oppose all 24 outreach proposals at this stage.” It also stated that should Post Office Ltd “endeavour to pursue their outreach plans” for the region, Lockington PO should be opened for 5 hours a week, as opposed to the planned 4.

Graham said, “Everyone knows that 4 hours a week from the back of a van is no replacement for a fully-fledged Post Office. At the very least the opening hours should be extended so that people have time to conduct their business. This is something that should be taken on board before the introduction of the outreach service.”  

To view a copy of Postwatch’s letter, click on the link here

Local MP writes to Business and Enterprise Select Committee with Post Office consultation complaints

16th January, 2007

Local MP, Graham Stuart, has submitted a response to the Business and Enterprise Select Committee regarding the consultation period for the restructuring of the Post Office network in the East Riding.

The Post Office confirmed last month that the planned closures of Mappleton, Hollym, Lockington and Grovehill Road Post Offices would indeed go ahead. This was part of the Government’s plan to shut 2,500 Post Office branches across the country.

The Business and Enterprise Select Committee has now decided to hold an inquiry into the consultation period. The Committee’s Chairman, Peter Luff, wrote to Graham to seek his views on the pre-consultation, the local consultation itself and the extent to which the final decision had taken local views into account.

In his response, Graham highlighted four main concerns about the consultation period: the totally inadequate timescale for the process itself (just 6 weeks), the Government’s lack of planning for the possibility of a reprieve for a local branch, the role (or lack of) that Postwatch, essentially the consumer voice, played in the proceedings and their non-efforts to engage with the local population, and the fact that the final decisions failed to reflect the will of the local population.

Graham said, “I’m delighted that the Business Committee has decided to look into this issue. My constituents are telling me that they feel the consultation was a sham. The Post Office took absolutely no notice of the wishes of local people, who overwhelmingly voted to keep their local Post Office branch. For Grovehill, in particular, to be closed despite the overwhelming arguments in its favour was ridiculous.

Local MP supports call for a full Post Office review

7th January, 2008

Local MP, Graham Stuart, has added his voice to calls for a full Government review of planned Post Office closures across the country.

Scottish Nationalist MP, Mike Weir, was the first to call for the review. He said that “substantial” cuts to Post Office services were likely to be announced for the Highlands and North Eastern regions of Scotland, which serves his constituency, when a formal decision is made by the Post Office on January 7th.

Graham has also called for a full Government review, following the confirmed closure of Post Office branches in Hollym, Mappleton, Lockington and Grovehill Road, Beverley. He said that the Government had “dreamt this closure programme up, forced the Post Office to push it through and could intervene and put a stop to it almost immediately.”

He continued, “The Government’s actions have been cynical in the extreme. Phasing in the closures region by region and giving local people and councils just 6 weeks to campaign against the proposals has ensured that the closure programme, which will decimate the rural Post Office network, has been kept off the front-pages of the newspapers.

“People in the affected areas have seen through this sham consultation and are beginning to ask serious questions about the Government’s honesty.”

To sign the petition opposing Post Office Ltd's decision to close popular local Post Offices, click here

17th December 2007

Responding to today’s announcement by Post Office Ltd that, after a six-week public consultation, Hollym, Mappleton and Grovehill Road Post Offices will be closed, local MP, Graham Stuart, said:

“People will be rightly furious. Three more villages will now lose a vital service and the Grovehill area of Beverley is left bereft. The case for Grovehill was so overwhelming that it is hard to believe that the consultation could have been genuine when it has this dismal outcome.

“I feel that all of us in positions of influence have let down the elderly and disabled for whom their Post Office is a lifeline.”

Graham has secured a meeting with the Post Office Minister, Pat McFadden MP, to discuss the impact of these closures in the East Riding. The meeting will take place on Tuesday 8th January 2008 at 3pm.