Maidenhead & Windsor

The Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough has criticised the 'unhelpful' response of Post Offices Ltd who have finally agreed to meet a cross-party council representation – two days AFTER the final list of closures has been announced.

With six local post offices under threat in the Windsor and Maidenhead borough – five in Maidenhead and one in Windsor – Cllr David Burbage, council leader, and Cllr Simon Werner, leader of the opposition, requested a meeting before the publication of the closure report on Tuesday April 8. However, after more than a month of trying to 'pin them down' to an agreed date, the post office has offered to meet borough representatives on Thursday April 10.

Cllr Burbage said: "Post Offices Ltd have been extremely unhelpful. The council is unanimously opposed to the closure programme in our borough and we wanted a meeting to put forward our views in advance of a final decision being taken. Despite our best efforts to be flexible about dates and times, we were unable to pin them down – and we have now been offered a meeting when it is far too late to impress upon them the very real concerns of people across our community.

"We believe this is a shabby way to treat elected representatives of Royal Borough residents who are, after all, post office customers and deserve to be heard."

Windsor and Maidenhead Cllr Werner said this was typical of the post office whose closure programme paid scant regard to the needs of local communities.

He said: "Councils and local people were the last to be consulted about the proposed closures and the entire process smacked of decisions having already been taken. No thought has been given to the needs of those who depend on services provided by their local post offices, many of them older and more vulnerable residents or young people with children who will find it impossible to travel the extra miles to get to another post office.

"We await the closure list with a great deal of trepidation because we have no confidence that the views of post office users have been taken into account. I sincerely hope our fears do not become a reality."

The six Royal Windsor and Maidenhead Borough post offices marked for closure are: Maidenhead – Boyne Hill, Bridge Road, Cookham Road, Knowl Hill and Norfolk Park; Windsor – Springfield Road.

In a letter to the council on March 25, postal service watchdog Postwatch said it was 'very concerned' about the capacity of Maidenhead Crown Office (High Street) to cope adequately with the increased business following four post office closures around the town centre.

Sheila Button, chair of Postwatch South East, wrote: "Customers and stakeholders have reported concerns about the quality of service at the crown office. Postwatch oppose the closure of Bridge Road because it has the largest number of customer sessions and would therefore ease the pressure the most. There are also a number of new dwellings being built which would add to the population."

A motion passed unanimously by full council last August condemned the threatened loss of local post offices and the difficulties this would cause to many residents.

Since the proposed closures were announced the Windsor and Maidenhead council has taken up the cudgels on behalf of local residents. Advertisements were taken in the local press urging people to make their views known through the consultation. Letters were also sent to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and there has been close liaison with local MPs Adam Afriyie and Theresa May.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead