A petition has been launched to save Pudsey’s threatened post office.
As reported on January 11, Post Office Limited has announced proposals to close Pudsey Post Office as part of a raft of national cost-cutting measures and replace it with a small counter in another shop or supermarket, on a franchise basis.
The decision has been met with an outcry on social media, with many calling for the vital resource to be saved in its present building.
Now worried Pudsey resident Rachel Holt has launched an online petition in a bid to get Post Office bosses to reverse the decision. She said:
“This is a busy, heavily utilised office used by a wide demographic of ages for parcels, currency, post, passports, making payments.
“If the branch was based in a franchise it would become dependent on another business. This would endanger long term postal service provision in Pudsey could lead to current staff losing their jobs.
“The nearest Crown post office if Pudsey closes is Leeds or Bradford town centre, which would have a significant cost, time and accessibility impact for all users, and especially older residents.”
The petition can be signed here.
Roger Gale, sales and trade marketing director at the Post Office, said:
“The Post Office’s network of more than 11,600 branches is easily the largest in the UK, with 17 million customer visits a week.
“The vast majority of these branches are run with partners, and in the locations announced we believe this will also be a more sustainable approach for the long term. With consumer habits changing, and the high cost of maintaining premises in prime high street locations, franchising helps us to keep services where our customers want and need them.
“We will take time to identify the right partners over the coming months and all proposals will be subject to local consultation.”
The Dispatch commented on the closure proposal when it was announced.
Clear from the Post Office spokesperson they are determined to press ahead despite local opposition – just look at that rancid statement he’s issued (standard blurb pulled from the bottom drawer of his filing cabinet). People of Pudsey have the solution in their own hands. Tell your MP Stuart Andrew that if this Post Office closes and moves to a franchise you’ll turf him out at the next election. With a 4,000 majority I think you might capture his attention. That’s what voting is for!
No idea where the services will go if they close this building. Sainsbury’s is already too full. B&M is in a small unit and couldn’t accommodate – whatever we get (if we get anything) it’s going to be a lot smaller …
Perhaps put the Town Hall back into use its wasted downstairs since they moved housing to the library …
We have had small ‘Counters’ before in Littlemoor Road and Fartown; both now closed. It’s bad enough just having the one office for the whole of Pudsey, currently well utilised and often having queues almost out of the door. All the services on offer will not be performed well in a single, new pokey little office. Obviously the Post Office is thinking only of the bottom line and not of its customers. Fat chance of the Council stepping in either. Prophesy – the new one won’t last long either!
hospitals were also told to rent buildings as opposed to maintaining theres and look how that turned out they rented buildings instead of maintaining theyre own and ended up paying extortionate rents they can no longer keep up to it is not good economics its lunacy and should not be allowed to go ahead this is a well used part of the pudsey community