The great Post Office wipe-out

Not long ago the occasional loss of a post office here and there was upsetting and inconvenient for those relying on it locally but not emblematic of a wider crisis.

In recent months, however, the Post Office has embarked on a mass cull of branches which many critics believe could drain the life from close-knit communities.

Almost 60 branches across Sussex have been condemned already this year - a wipe-out blamed on the Post Office's equally-dramatic £1 million-a-day losses.

On one day alone in January, seven sub-post offices in Brighton and Hove closed for good. Four more followed during the next two days.

The Post Office, which made losses of £194 million last year, insists it will invest in better, modernised outlets offering a far greater range of services.

Critics say these souped-up outlets may provide little comfort to key customers such as mothers collecting family benefits or pensioners.

Traditionally local outlets have been appreciated for their convenience - a one-stop shop for people wanting to buy stamps, pay bills, collect benefits and apply for motor insurance or driving licences.

Since last April, however, the Government has allowed benefits, pensions and some tax credits to be paid directly into people's bank accounts.

Post Office Limited allows people to set up accounts with one of its banking partners so they can still collect benefits at post offices - though many feel they have not done enough to publicise this service.

Many pensioners without bank accounts, however, still collect their benefits in person from their nearest post office. Often these are located in or near to grocery stores where they can also do their shopping.

Yet the rise in the use of email and text messages has meant a drop in the number of letters posted while direct debit or internet schemes are gaining in popularity.

Perhaps less tangibly, many feel the close-knit communities of the past and the social networks represented by a local post office have been eroded by various modern developments.

Rural sub-post offices, in particular, may be suffering the side-effects of out-of-town shopping opportunities and more transient populations, especially in the South-East commuter belt.

The dilemma was expressed by the differing views of postmasters Charan Dharjan and Eric Sowerby as their branches closed within two days of each other in January.

Mr Dharjan, 48, who ran the post office in Church Road, Portslade, for seven years until January 20, said: "I'm gutted. It's really important for local people."

In contrast, Mr Sowerby nominated his own office in Valley Drive, Westdene, for closure, saying: "With benefits going into banks, that's 40 per cent of our wages gone.

"I don't think there is enough work with emails now. How many people send letters these days? And you can buy a stamp anywhere."

Since last November and the start of the Post Office's latest "urban reinvention" programme of closures, 31 post offices have closed across Sussex.

It was confirmed another eight which had already shut would never reopen.

Four more are scheduled to close this month, with another nine still to have their fate confirmed or their closing date fixed.

Brighton and Hove MPs David Lepper, Des Turner and Ivor Caplin had demanded an organised programme rather than a steady slew of "piecemeal" closures.

Mr Lepper still believes this year's closures are unnecessary and damaging.

He said: "Much of the time I feel the Post Office really hasn't the faintest idea about the cost to people who depend on these offices, nor about the geography of Brighton, where the hills are and how many main roads people have to cross to get to their nearest branch.

"If you're a mother with children and shopping it makes a real difference having to go a mile farther to get to your nearest post office."

He was especially concerned by the loss of branches in Valley Drive in Westdene, Carden Avenue in Patcham and Hampton Place, off Western Road, Brighton.

This last one has been given a temporary reprieve until May 8.

Mr Lepper said: "Post Office Ltd says people should carry on along Western Road to where it becomes Hove but the branch there is on very few people's routes if they're in the main shopping area.

"I've received letters from people who used to use Valley Drive, saying they didn't want to use their cars as much but they didn't have any choice now.

"Obviously more people are choosing to pay their bills by direct debit or over the internet but sub-post offices do still add to the vitality of our shopping parades and provide a social scene."

Nationally, the Post Office is under pressure to get rid of 3,000 of its 17,500 offices.

Postmasters and postmistresses have been offered £20,000 cash packages to shut up shop, although the Post Office has insisted these were not "bribes" but signals of gratitude for their years of work.

The organisation argues there are too many post offices, particularly in urban areas, competing for too little business.

While some of the traditional functions of local post offices have been sacrificed to banks, the Post Office itself is trying to muscle into financial services territory.

The Post Office announced its own personal loan this week, part of a joint venture with the Bank of Ireland.

It follows the introduction of foreign currency services and the sale of travel insurance at Post Office branches.

People will be able to borrow between £1,000 and £25,000 through the loan, with rates ranging from 14.9 per cent for loans of up to £3,000 to 7.9 per cent for those between £7,500 and £15,000.

This will be followed by offering motor insurance this summer and credit cards and savings accounts within 18 months.

Chief executive David Mills said: "Extensive research carried out among 20,000 customers clearly indicated a huge demand for financial services from a brand like the Post Office.

"We have the largest branch network of any retailer, with 29 million customers visiting us each week and we already handle 27p of every £1 in circulation in the UK."

Five branches were lost in Brighton and Hove last May: Bates Road, Havelock Road and Ditchling Road in Brighton, and in North Hangleton and Margery Road, Hove.

Three more branches in Crabtree Lane, Lancing, Sompting Road, Lancing, Busticle Lane, Sompting, and St John's Parade, Goring, closed last October with the postmasters' agreement.

Four of Eastbourne's 19 branches closed last December - in Whitley Road, Avard Crescent, Compton Street and Church Street.

The main Upperton Road post office followed on February 7.

The Post Office insists a managed programme of closures, with consultation, is the most sensible way to bring down crippling overheads while ensuring people still have services within a mile of their homes.

Paul Simmonds, head of area for the Post Office, said it had no choice but to push ahead with the latest closures.

He said: "No change is not an option for Post Office, which is losing increasing amounts of money.

"Nor is it an option for sub-postmasters whose branches are simply taking too little to pay their way.

"Not long ago this led to a spate of uncontrolled closures, with sub-postmasters believing they had no choice but to leave.

"By managing closures through this programme we will have fewer branches but these will be viable and have a future."

Investment in flagship offices such as Ship Street in Brighton promises more counters and better disabled access.

However, postal services minister Stephen Timms told Parliament last month: "There has been mounting evidence that in too many cases Post Office has not handled them appropriately or with sufficient sensitivity."

He demanded MPs and councils be advised sooner about the timetables for closures and consultation.

Seven of the 33 branches in Hastings and St Leonards have just been added to the proposed closures.

Hastings and Rye MP Michael Foster has written to the Post Office to complain and urged people to follow suit during six weeks of consultation - despite widespread scepticism about the process.

He said: "I understand Post Office Ltd must make a case and I understand the issues behind their decisions.

"But this is short-sighted and clearly not in the interests of the communities."

Post Office managers have now insisted they are halting the urban closure programme.