At this month’s first full council meeting, councillors debated a motion tabled by Cllr. Heidi Bennett (Lab, Pen-y-fai), opposing Post Office Ltd’s proposed closure of Crown Post Offices.
The only Crown Post Office in the county is at Dunraven Place in Bridgend town centre. It’s been listed “at risk” of closure alongside 114 others around the UK, threatening 1,000 jobs in total.
Post Office Ltd is owned by the UK Government. The difference between a normal post office and a Crown Post Office is that the latter are directly managed by the company instead of franchise holders or independent businesses.
This isn’t the first time Bridgend Post Office has been earmarked for closure. In 2017, plans to relocate the post office to WH Smith at the Rhiw Shopping Centre were dropped – and franchising is being considered this time around as well.
The full text of the motion is available here. In summary:
- This Council notes the significant social and economic impact the closures would have on staff and communities.
- The Council believes the closures are an “unwarranted attack on public services, jobs and the communities that depend on them”.
- The Council believes that the (UK) government and management have not provided enough justification for the proposed closures and have failed to invest in Crown Post Offices. It’s part of a “worrying trend” towards the privatisation and outsourcing of essential public services.
- The Council resolves to: formally protest and oppose the closures; to support workers affected by the proposal – particularly those at Bridgend Post Office; to work with other councils to raise awareness of the potential impact; call on the UK Government to ensure a proper consultation on future plans for the network are held with workers and communities.
Digital services can’t replace the human touch
Cllr. Bennett said Crown Post Offices were more than just places to send post; they were vital hubs for businesses and residents. As well as bringing footfall to high streets, they provide face-to-face services for people who can’t access the internet, as well as services that people may need expert advice to use – such as banking, pensions and passport applications.
Cllr. Bennett added that post office workers deserve job security and fair conditions, underlining that once these jobs were gone they were likely to be gone forever.
Deputy Council Leader, Cllr. Jane Gebbie (Lab, Pyle, Kenfig Hill & Cefn Cribwr), accused the UK Government of disregarding public opinion during the consultation process. The informal support and human touch provided by post offices couldn’t be replaced digitally. She also reminded everyone of the disgrace Post Office Ltd has brought upon itself as a result of the Horizon IT scandal.
Council can’t franchise post offices themselves
Cllr. Jonathan Pratt (Con, Newton) noted that Tesco has expressed an interest in franchising some of the affected post offices. He asked whether this was something a local authority could consider.
The answer – from Cllr. Gebbie – was a straight “no”. The reason there’s a desire to keep the existing Crown Post Office is that it has the facilities, workforce and services that smaller local post offices can’t provide.
Cllr. Ross Penhale-Thomas (Ind, Maesteg West) noted that Maesteg Post Office has been in a similar situation for several years and there was a strong desire for Maesteg to retain a lone standing post office too. In that spirit, he supported the motion adding his condemnation of the Post Office’s actions during the Horizon scandal.
The motion was approved unanimously.
