RE-OPEN OUR POST OFFICE BRANCHES

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 22nd Sep 2008

Dear Lord Hanningfield

Over the past several years, Liberal Democrats and other community groups in Chelmsford and Colchester have been campaigning to stop the closure of post office branches across the town. We know how important local post offices are to members of our communities. However, despite our efforts, we have seen many local branches disappear, forcing our residents to travel further and at greater inconvenience, to reach their nearest post office.

We have followed your campaign to reopen post office branches and we are delighted to see that your negotiations with Post Office Ltd to re-open branches have been successful. We note that the first post office branch was reopened in Buckhurst Hill recently and we congratulate you for this achievement.

We are writing to you to ask what progress has been made to re-open post office branches here in Chelmsford and Colchester. In recent times we have lost the following post office branches in urban areas:

Springfield Hill, Springfield

Queens Road

Trent Road

Great Baddow Road, Great Baddow

Kings Road

North Station Road, Mile End

Parsons Heath, Harwich Road

Pownall Crescent, Berechurch Road

Nayland Road

Bergholt Road, Mile End

We know that local residents in these areas and across Chelmsford and Colchester, would like to see these branches re-opened as soon as possible, so they can enjoy their post office services like they now do in Buckhurst Hill.

We would ask for your assurance in the next few weeks, that negotiations are taking place so that you can re-open these post office branches for our communities and we look forward to receiving an opening date from you.

In anticipation of the successful re-opening of our post office branches,

Kind regards

Yours sincerely

Margaret Fisher

Keith Francis

Ian Gale

Theresa Higgins

Mike Mackrory

Maureen Miller

Tom Smith-Hughes

Anne Turrell

Liberal Democrat county councillors for Chelmsford and Colchester