TONGE APPALLED BY POST OFFICE PLANS

12.00.00am GMT Wed 18th Dec 2002

Letters from The Post Office have alerted Richmond Park MP Dr Jenny Tonge to plans to close two local post offices – one on Kew Green and the other in Popham Gardens on the Lower Mortlake Road.

The closure plan is out for consultation until 20 January 2003.

Dr Tonge has expressed her outrage at these plans – in particular at the one month consultation period, which she says is far too short.

The MP said: "This action by the Post Office is quite unacceptable. To offer a consultation period of just one month – and over the Christmas holiday period too – is outrageous."

"It's obvious the Post Office has no intention of taking the views of local people into account."

"What really worries me is that these proposed closures may be just the beginning.

If they are closing two in Kew alone, how many more of our local post offices are they going to close?

What are people supposed to do when they want to send a parcel – get on the bus to Richmond?

People need their local post offices, especially the elderly."

"I would advise everybody who is affected by this to write in straight away.

Write to: Drew McBride, Head of Area, Post Office Ltd., PO Box 641, St. Albans, AL1 5XN.

I shall certainly be doing so and I will also be writing to Allan Leighton , the Post Office chairman. "