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Give us back our post office
• IT was so good to see your coverage (Reopen our post offices now, December 14) of the protest march in which 100-plus residents took part and was supported by Tom Conti and Gail Porter.
The matter of a post office in Belsize transcends all factions and is a real need to residents. The Save Our Post Office petition collected 1,500 signatures in less than a month and I am unable to understand why the Post Office will not come up with the funding necessary. Here are a few facts:
n Mr Patel of Actionmate on Haverstock Hill has passed the postmaster entry exams.
n Actionmate has been approved by the Post Office for two counter units.
n Funding to provide counters and the safe were offered a short while ago and have now been withdrawn.
n Mr Patel has asked the Post Office to provide an interest-free loan to get set up and has been refused.
Rural post offices are being actively supported if they are placed in joint premises such as garages and shops. So why not here? We have the perfect situation in Actionmate. Our post offices are in many ways the hub of the community for many people and recent research in Manchester shows that for every £10 spent in a post office generates a further £6 spend elsewhere in its vicinity.
It is clearly time to stop short term gain by closing sub post offices and suggesting that there is no longer a need due to the lack of custom. The sub offices should be given back some of the services that were withdrawn from them such as dealing with passports and also be given the freedom to look for business from other sources, such as parcel and letter service collection points for other carriers.
Come on Post Office your gain is our pain!
CLLR CHRIS KNIGHT
Hampstead Town Ward
Belsize Crescent, NW3
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