 More than 40 Post Offices are set to be closed |
The Post Office plans to close 42 more branches in north east Scotland, Tayside and Fife, it has announced. It has opened a six-week public consultation to give communities a chance to air their views. Many of the branches are in rural areas in small towns from Buckpool in Moray to Lower Largo in Fife. Post offices in cities and larger towns are also affected, with branches in Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth earmarked on the closure list. Sally Buchanan, Post Office Ltd's network development manager for Scotland, said: "Taking the decision to close any Post Office branch is always very difficult and we know will cause concern to many of our customers. "We want to ensure that everyone who uses, relies on, or has any concern with Post Office services is both fully aware of the proposed changes, and able to give views on them." One of the post offices threatened with closure is the Southmuir branch at the Spar in Kirriemuir.  | READ THE PLANS
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A spokesman for owners, CJ Lang and Son, said: "We recognise that the provision of a post office facility such as Southmuir very much forms part of the service which our customers depend upon. "We therefore have a duty to both our store and post office staff at Kirriemuir and their customers to strongly oppose the proposed closure of our Southmuir Post Office. "We are actively encouraging the local community to support our campaign and avoid leaving Kirriemuir with only one Post Office which we believe will leave the local community severely disadvantaged." The spokesman added that they felt let down by the attitude of the Post Office after they had spent hundreds of thousands of pounds expanding their network of branches and helping keep others open. Alan Alexander, chairman of Postwatch Scotland, said: "Post Office closures are not good news for customers, but the government has decided that a significant number are necessary to help put in place a sustainable network for the long term. "This is not a consultation about how many post offices will close. It is about ensuring the ones that are closed minimise inconvenience to customers." The Post Office proposals would also see the introduction of 37 outreach services in rural communities, some remaining in their existing premises.
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