From Mike Bomford, Exeter 382173, June 30, 2008

In a joint response to Post Office Limited's (POL) consultation, Devon authorities have highlighted 10 post offices, currently on the proposed closure or outreach lists, that they believe should be retained within the post office network.

The authorities - which include Devon County, Torbay and District and Borough Councils, the Community Council of Devon, Devon Rural Network, and Devon Renaissance - have set out clearly their arguments to keep 10 of the post offices affected, and asked also that POL re-think some of their outreach proposals.

The Devon-wide response has been supported locally with additional statements issued by District and Borough Councils.

The full joint response can be seen at: http://www.devon.gov.uk/joint-devon-po-response-final.pdf

In addition, Devon County Council has submitted its own response, which can be seen at: http://www.devon.gov.uk/dcc-poncp-response-final.pdf

Branches proposed for closure that the authorities argue should remain open include:

Chelston, Torquay

Millwey Rise, Axminster

Offwell

Tipton St John

Torre, Torquay

Townstal, Dartmouth

Branches proposed for outreach that the authorities argue should remain open include:

Bishops Nympton

Bridestowe

Buckland Brewer

Shebbear

In addition, Devon County Council has submitted further information and comment concerning 27 other post offices, to clarify aspects of the proposals that the County Council believes POL have either missed or got wrong.

The joint response also lists the partner authorities' shared concerns generally about the post offices' proposals; namely that:

• With 22% of Devon's post offices proposed for closure, the authorities argue that the number is disproportionately high, and well over the target percentage of 18%. That high number of closures significantly disadvantages residents in more sparsely populated rural areas of the county.

• There are a number of sub postmasters who are looking to retire in the coming years and whose post offices are not on the closure list.

The authorities are asking POL to take into account the likelihood of voluntary retirements in their plans because 'natural wastage' is likely to lead to further closures where replacing those services may not be possible.

• The distances given by POL between post offices does not reflect the true distances, or most sensible routes.

The Government requires that 95% of people in rural areas live within 3 miles of a post office. But Devon's roads in more rural areas include single track lanes with few passing places, and can in hilly areas be steep.

The authorities argue that many of POL's suggested routes are impractical, and the alternatives lead to journey distances far exceeding 3 miles.

• Bus time tables have not been properly interpreted. Bus timings will mean that customers visiting neighbouring towns or villages to use their post office will in many cases need to wait several hours before their return journey. Conversely some bus timings do not leave sufficient time for people to carry out their business before the return journey.

• Authorities are concerned about the economic impact on the affected communities, as the loss of a post office would result in the closure of the associated business, usually a general store.

As well as the knock on effects for local businesses who use the post office, and the increased time and distance to travel to send parcels and make financial transactions, authorities are also concerned about the loss of the associated stores which are sometimes critical to the community.

• 38 post offices, that under POLs proposals would be replaced with outreach services, is one of the highest numbers in the country and is too many.

Authorities are concerned that the financial arrangements to support the outreach services are unsatisfactory and give little incentive to secure long term sustainable services.

They ask POL to consider Postwatch's advise that any mobile services should include a minimum of 3 sessions per week, each of at least 2 hours duration.

• Authorities are concerned about the capacity of alternative branches in busier areas to handle the additional trade. The high quality of service will suffer where customer numbers at busy times will lead to queues and over long waiting times, which will disadvantage older and disabled people and people with young children.

• POL have not taken into account Devon's demographics. With one of the highest percentages of older people in the country, Devon authorities are concerned about the impact of closure on older people's independence and quality of life.

Proposed housing development across Devon will also increase the potential customer base for post offices, and this has also not been taken into account by POL.

The Chairman of the Devon partnership, Steve Pitcher, said:

"Our group of local authority representatives and partners have been working together very closely on our joint response to the Devon Post Office Network Review Team's proposals.

"The response represents a clear consensus of us all and I hope that Post Office Ltd pays serious attention to it.

"This is an issue of fundamental importance to the communities of Devon and we believe they deserve a fair hearing of our case."

The Leader of Devon County Council, Cllr Brian Greenslade, said:

"This issue has united and galvanised communities across Devon and shows the value that residents place on their local post office services. Post Offices are a focal point for communities and we must fight hard to reduce the impact of these closures on Devon. Devon County Council stands ready to play its part in finding solutions."

Cllr Brian Berman, the County Council's Executive Member for Communities, said:

"We have submitted a very detailed response to Post Office Ltd showing that there are many of their proposed closures that will impact severely on the most vulnerable members of the affected communities and also on many small businesses in the rural areas.

"We have identified several Post Offices that should not be closed at all and many more closures where the outreach proposals are nowhere near being acceptable. The tremendous public outcry over the proposed closures shows how highly valued the local Post Office is by communities.

"Post Office Ltd should take note of our responses and reduce the scale of their closure programme in Devon, which has been set higher than in other areas and higher than is necessary to comply with the Government's requirements."

NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS

Devon authorities listed below have issued a joint response to the consultation. In addition, the authorities have individually submitted additional information to POL.

The joint response has been agreed by partner authorities, including:

Devon County Council -contact Mike Bomford, Tel: 01392 382173

North Devon Council - contact Alison Carragher, Tel: 01271 388278

East Devon District Council -contact Nick Stephen, Tel: 01395 517559

Mid Devon District Council -contact Julia Stuckey, Tel: 01884 233105

South Hams District Council -contact Jenny Bishop, Tel: 01803 861369

Teignbridge District Council -contact Michelle Kenney, Tel: 01626 215135

Torbay Council -contact Nicola Moorhouse, Tel: 01803 208850

Torridge District Council -contact Cathy McCormack, Tel: 01237 428772

West Devon Borough Council -contact Alison Stoneham, Tel: 01822 813648

Community Council of Devon - contact Jay Talbot, Tel: 01392 382532

Devon Rural Network - contact Jen Brogan, Tel: 01392 382831