Villagers fear for future of Orwell post office

ORWELL residents will strongly oppose any potential closure of their village post office, says a parish councillor.

The post office, in Town Green Road, is one of a number of offices around Royston which may face the axe as part of a Government programme which will see 2,500 offices shut down nationwide.

Cllr Katie Reed, vice chairman of Orwell Parish Council, said: "The village post office is used by people of all ages.

"If there was a chance of it being shut down a lot of residents would feel very strongly against it."

Last week The Crow launched its Your Post Office needs You campaign, urging readers to voice their opposition to potential closures.

Cllr Reed highlighted the facilities that will be lost if rural post offices are closed.

She said: "I know a lot of people use the post office to exchange foreign currency, and it would also be a worry if the shop were to close, because that is always busy too."

Satnam Boora, Orwell Post Office manager, said: "Nobody has been told anything. We don't really know what's happening yet.

"We are always busy and used by a lot of people in the village, but there's no way to gauge whether this will be enough to save us from closure. It's very worrying."

A list of offices under threat in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Bedfordshire, will be announced at the beginning of July, at the start of a six-week public consultation period.

The final list of offices for closure will be published in September.

Anyone wishing to write to Post Office Ltd about the closures can do so by sending a letter to Freepost Consultation, or emailing consultation@postoffice.co.uk.

A national pressure group, Communities against Post Office closures (COPAC) has also been set up.

For more information on this visit the website www.postofficeclosures.org.uk.