Post Office closures
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WANDSWORTH: Post Office closure consultation criticised
A consultation document on Post Office closures has been criticised for containing a series of errors.
Wandsworth Council argues the Post Office's document states journey times to surviving post officers are quicker than normally possible.
The council states the document offers two alternatives to the closure threatened branch on 258 Balham High Road.
According to the document an alternative post office on Upper Tooting Road is a 10-minute bus journey while another at 92a Balham High Road is only a five-minute trip.
But the council says the Transport for London route planner estimates journey times as 17 and 18 minutes respectively including walking times.
Another threatened post office at St John's Road is listed as the nearest alternative to the threatened branch at Trinity Road - but the distance by car is quoted as 0.09miles when it should be 1.05miles.
Eight branches in Wandsworth have been earmarked for closure, and the Post Office's six-week consultation period closed on Wednesday.
In view of the errors Wandsworth Council says it now wants a six-week extension to the consultation period.
Deputy council leader Maurice Heaster said: "These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. In every case the Post Office has supplied inadequate or misleading information about the branch affected.
"We do not think measuring routes from the threatened branch is the right way to do this. The routes from the branch proposed for closure to the nearest alternatives are not those that customers would take.
"It would be more meaningful to compare distances for residents to their nearest branch both before and after the planned closures. This would give us an average increase in travel times.
"There are so many errors that the Post Office must reissue the consultation document and allow more time for consultation."
A spokesman for the Post Office Ltd said the consultation period has been laid down by Government.
He added all feedback would be treated as sensitively as possible.
"We understand that the closure of post offices is a sensitive issue, but what we are trying to do is safeguard the future of the service," he said.
A decision on the Post Office closures is expected to be due in May.
8:22am Tuesday 8th April 2008
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