Use or lose it

A contributing factor may be a sense of alienation from a society in which an individual can feel he counts for little.

Other areas are more fortunate, perhaps because they retain a sense of community, though this has been eroded in recent years by trends such as the loss of local shops.

The closure of small post offices such as those under threat in Bates Road, Havelock Road and Ditchling Road would make matters even worse.

It would also have serious practical consequences for residents, particularly elderly people and mothers with young children, and when wishing to buy stamps or draw an allowance they would be faced with either a longer walk or the additional expense of a bus journey into town.

Small local post offices are losing money largely as a result of government pressure to move benefit payments from pass books to bank accounts.

However, few people make full use of, or are even aware of, the full range of services provided by post offices.

If the Post Office expanded instead of cutting its services and promoted them more vigorously, encouraging people to use the banking and other services available, the problems might not be insuperable.

Meanwhile, please do all you can to keep your neighbourhood post office open. It is a vital part of the community. Use it or lose it.

-Betty Morris, Bates Road, Brighton