Plan to reopen post offices hits trouble

A PLAN by Sheffield Council's ruling Liberal Democrat group to spend half a million pounds on reopening two of the city's closed Post Offices appears to have run into difficulties.

In October 2008 Post Office Ltd announced that it would be closing 65 branches across South Yorkshire, north Derbyshire, Huddersfield and the Colne Valley, including 15 in Sheffield.

Branches that closed in Sheffield were at Crookes Valley Road, Hatfield House Lane, High Wincobank, Oakbrook Road, Park Grange, Parkhead, Shalesmoor, Southey, The Moor, Deepcar, Derbyshire Lane, Grimesthorpe, Loxley, Silverhill and Western Road.

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In August last year, the Liberal Democrats then announced that they would be reopening branches in Norfolk Park and Nether Green this month, and funding them until March 2011.

However, neither Post Office has in fact reopened.

Leader of the Labour group on Sheffield Council, Coun Jan Wilson, said: "If the Lib Dems had looked into whether they could realistically keep these Post Offices open, instead of blindly promising that they could, they would have realised it was in fact very difficult to do.

"The Lib Dems may make bold promises, but in reality they share the same 'do-nothing' approach of the Tories. Sheffield deserves better."

One resident of Nether Green, Richard Lindley, said he was "extremely disappointed" that his local Post Office would not be opening this month.

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He said: "It seems that all this grand talk about saving Post Offices was just another attempt to make a quick headline and grab a few votes."

Coun David Baker, deputy leader of Sheffield Council, said that the branches "should have never been closed by the Government in the first place."

He added: "However, the council is still working to reopen the Post Offices at Nether Green and Norfolk Park.

"We have actually had discussions with people who want to run them, but they have walked away when they realise the financial barriers the Government have put up.

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"Under the rules reopened Post Offices do not get the annual core payment that other Post Offices get and they also have to pay an annual charge to Post Office Ltd. It's no wonder that even Coun Wilson admits reopening Post Offices is very difficult to do.

"That's why just a few days ago we wrote to local Labour MPs to ask for their help in making the Government drop their unfair policy so we can attract people to run the new businesses."