ST Neots Register Office is to be closed by the county council despite fierce opposition. At a meeting of the town council last Wednesday night, councillors expressed their dismay at the decision to close the office. Councillor Sue Gregory (Eaton Ford war

ST Neots Register Office is to be closed by the county council despite fierce opposition.

At a meeting of the town council last Wednesday night, councillors expressed their dismay at the decision to close the office.

Councillor Sue Gregory (Eaton Ford ward) said: "I'm so angry that this town keeps losing everything, first the job centre and now the registration service.

"Cambridgeshire County Council has chosen to deny the people of St Neots a key amenity and I think that is disgraceful. It breaks my heart to see what we have lost in St Neots over the years. The town has been raped."

The office, which is located in the Citizens Advice Bureau in Oak House, New Street, will close on July 1 after the county decided it was massively under used.

Anyone in living in St Neots wanting to register a birth or death will be required to use the office in Ferrars Road in Huntingdon or use the on-line service.

Mayor of St Neots Cllr Paul Ursell, told The Hunts Post: "There is no logical reason for it to close as it is a service that should be available in the town for residents. We have offered a room within the Priory Centre in St Neots for the registration service to be run but that has been rejected by the county council.

"It's disgraceful that such a service is assessed purely on a cost basis and it's totally wrong. It's yet another service that has been taken away from the people of St Neots."

According to figures released by the county, the St Neots office, which is open only two days a week, was registering seven births or deaths a week in 2005. In 2005 only 45 per cent of offered appointments at the St Neots office were filled.

Louise Clover, business support manager for the county, said: "The St Neots office has rapidly decreased in use over the years. We are finding that more and more people are registering births in Huntingdon because there is a hospital there. Staff at the St Neots office won't lose their jobs. Instead they will be moved to the Huntingdon office, which will be open longer hours when the St Neots office closes. We are trying to use taxpayers' money to the best of our ability.