Tread carefully

1:07pm Friday 14th March 2008

NOW well into the consultation period over the latest wave of proposed post office closures, we can see where the battles will be fought to save individual branches.

It has been encouraging to see communities galvanise themselves to make the case for the retention of their local post office but it has also been somewhat dispiriting to see the number of communities who clearly care little for their facility. Well, they may care for it, but not enough to mount a campaign to save it.

The exercise being carried out by Essex County Council is an interesting one, and one which a number of local authorities in our part of the world are looking at closely. If a local post office is deemed to be as much a social service as meals on wheels then a case can be made for local authorities to take over or part-subsidise the running of some.

But local councils have to be careful here. The Post Office would be only too willing to off-load loss-making branches on to local authorities. It would get it out of a nasty political mess which threatens to permanently damage the name of a much-loved institution.

But councils have to be absolutely sure there is community support. As we have seen, some communities are not that fussed about their local post office, so why should the slack be taken up by councils who have enough financial problems of their own without taking on someone else's as well?

Councils should make a move to save a post office branch only if the Post Office seems determined to close it and there is demonstrable local support for it. There is little point in offering a public subsidy for a service which no-one much cares about.