Lib Dems Condemn New Post Office Closures

7.12.42pm GMT Mon 22nd Nov 2004

Jennifer Kingsley, the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Kensington & Chelsea, has reacted with dismay to the confirmation that three more post offices are going to close in the Royal Borough.

The affected post offices are: Victoria Grove, St Helen's Gardens and Westbourne Park Road.

The first to close, Victoria Grove, will shut its doors for the last time at the end of this month.

Kingsley commented:

"I have been campaigning with local residents to save the post offices, and I am bitterly disappointed that our efforts have not prevented these vital hubs of community life being swept away.

"All of the offices that the Post Office consulted on will close. This is a real blow to residents and businesses in the affected areas.

"The total number of offices in the country has fallen by 17% over the last ten years and it seems our area has been particularly badly hit. In parliament earlier this month, Peter Hain MP, Leader of the House, said that post offices are not used as much as they were because customers are 'behaving differently'.

"Such generalisations seem a little heartless. There are many people in Kensington and Chelsea who want to carry on behaving in the same way they have done all their lives. Post offices are more than a stamp shop. They enable people to exchange news and views and socialise with neighbours.

"Many offices sell groceries and other goods and services appreciated by local people and businesses, particularly those who wish to shop locally and cannot travel far because they are disabled, they are carers at home or they wish to be less car-reliant."

The other post offices already affected by the wave of closures are: Clarendon Cross and Notting Hill.