Consultation starts on changes to post office network – Post Office Ltd announces plans for Central Wales

Post Office Ltd today opened a six-week local public consultation on its Area Plan for the Central Wales area. In line with the criteria and factors set by the UK Government in its Response Document (DTI The Post Office Network, Government response to public consultation May 2007 – www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page36024.html), the Area Plan proposes future provision of Post Office services through a network of 153 Post Office® branches across the Central Wales area, including establishing 24 new innovative Outreach service points, but to close 13 existing branches. (See full list below).

Under the proposals, more than 98.8% of the area’s population will either see no change, or will remain within one mile (by road distance) of an alternative branch.

The detailed Area Plan proposal for Central Wales area is now available from Post Office Ltd at: www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange or by emailing: [email protected] or by writing to: Post Office Ltd, Freepost Consultation Team (no stamp required)

Post Office Ltd is now seeking views on the proposed future service provision in the area, in particular views on access to Post Office services, the accessibility of alternative branches to those proposed for closure.

The local public consultation on the Area Plan Proposal for Central Wales will commence on 11th March 2008.

The local public consultation usually lasts for a period of six weeks, however Post Office Ltd will be suspending consultation activity, including participating in public meetings, and will not announce any final decisions regarding closures or replacement Outreach services, from 10 April 2008 until 2 May 2008. This coincides with the run up to the local elections taking place in England and Wales and is in line with the usual guidelines regarding such elections.

Additionally in this instance we have extended public consultation by 2 working days to allow for the holiday period over Easter.

The closing date for feedback in respect of the local public consultation is therefore 19th May 2008.

The UK Government has already undertaken a 12 week national consultation before reaching a decision to reduce the UK-wide network of Post Office branches by up to 2,500 from its current level of over 14,000, while continuing to provide funding to support a more sustainable network in the future. The proposals now published support the national accessibility criteria introduced by the UK Government.

Steve Geraty, Post Office Ltd’s Network Development Manager for Wales, said: "Taking the decision to close any Post Office branch is always very difficult and we know will cause concern to many of our customers. We want to ensure that everyone who uses, relies on, or has any concern with Post Office services is both fully aware of the proposed changes and able to give views on them."

"Post Office Ltd’s aim is to continue to provide essential services and support retail businesses and the local economy in as many communities as possible, subject to the minimum access set by the UK Government," he continued.

Central Wales is a predominantly rural area with small number of towns such as Brecon, Newtown and Aberystwyth with its large student population. 90.9% of the population live in rural communities and 9.1% in urban areas. In order to meet the Government’s access criteria and avoid undue hardship, Post Office Ltd is proposing a future Network in the region comprising 5 branches in urban towns and 148 branches in rural areas.

"We believe these proposals offer the best prospect for a sustainable way forward for Post Office services in the Central Wales area, bearing in mind the minimum access criteria and the other factors to which we have to have regard."

Under the Area Plan proposals, 89.3% of the area’s population will retain their existing Post Office branch. Where there is change, 9.5% of our customers would have access to Post Office services within one mile by road distance to the nearest alternative branch.

Post Office Ltd has reached these proposals after engaging with, and taking input from, the independent consumer watchdog for postal services, Postwatch, and from all local authorities within the area, and has considered factors relating to geography, the availability of local transport and alternative access to key Post Office services, local demographics and the impact on local economies. Views on all these factors are welcomed during the consultation process.