Decision On Three Post Office Branches On The Western Isles
Post Office Ltd today (Tuesday) announced final decisions on the future of three Post Office branches in the Network Change programme for the Northern and Western Isles.
The decision follows a period of further review after the six-week public consultation, which ended on April 16 2008.
The branch at Skigersta on the Isle of Lewis has been withdrawn as a result of feedback received during consultation and during the period of further review and will now remain open.
The closures of Bragar on the Isle of Lewis and Northton on the Isle of Harris are confirmed today and they will close at the end of July at the earliest.
These two closures will mean that a total of 15 branches will close under the Northern and Western Isles plan. Post Office® services will continue to be provided through a network of 113 branches, which supports the national accessibility criteria introduced by the UK Government and ensures that 97% of the area’s population will either see no change to their existing branch or will remain within one mile (by road distance) of an alternative branch.
Sally Buchanan, Post Office Ltd’s Network Development Manager Scotland, said: “These are difficult decisions which have not been taken lightly. We have considered very carefully all the comments made during the public consultation and in the review period. We believe that the amended plan announced today offers our customers in this area the best prospect for a sustainable network in the future, bearing in mind the UK Government’s minimum access criteria and the other factors the UK Government has asked us to consider.”
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 2500 from its current level of over 14000 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
