Closure causes Postmaster trade concern

CLOSING the Low Road could threaten the future of the Fenstanton post office, according to the branch's postmaster.

The four-month road closure coincides with Post Office Limited's review of services in the county and is likely to mean a drop-off in custom at a vital time for the branch.

"The road closure could not have come at a worse time," postmaster Vikrant Sharma said.

"I understand that the work has to be done but we are already unsure of our future and this leaves us even more up in the air.

"We get a lot of trade from the direction of the Hemingfords and St Ives and although some will make the effort to reach us by another route, there will be others who do not, or cannot.

"Things like renewing your car tax come around only once a year and it is those sort of transactions that we will miss out on."

Cambridgeshire county Councillor Ian Bates, who is also leader of Huntingdonshire District Council, promised to write to Post Office Limited asking it not to use figures from the next few months as typical of the Fenstanton business.

A spokesman for Post Office Limited said: "Numbers of people using a post office branch form part of the criteria when considering closure, but the figures are taken as an average over a long period and any exceptional circumstances will be considered."

Post Office Limited is already well into its Network Change Programme, which seeks to close 2,500 branches across the country - the Cambridgeshire consultation process begins in the summer.

Hundreds of post office customers across the district have been signing their names on The Hunts Post's Protect Your Post Office petitions.

Petitions are available to sign at many post office branches, or online at www.huntspost24.co.uk or by visiting our offices at 30 High Street, Huntingdon.