Bosses say 2,500 UK Post Office branches will be closed

Churchills in Thornhill Road is among 2,500 UK branches identified by Post Office Ltd bosses as unsustainable.

Customers who use the branch are being urged to attend a public meeting on Thursday night to fight the plan.

The UK Government announced proposals to cut the number of sub post offices in May to reduce �4m weekly losses.

The full list of planned closures will be announced on 22 October, followed by a six-week public consultation process.

The announcement is also expected to affect branches in Callander, Thornhill and Stirling.

In Falkirk the future of 26 branches are under scrutiny as part of Post Office Ltd's network change programme

Commercial value

A further 43 post offices in Stirling are also being reviewed.

Announcements affecting branches within the Ochil and South Perthshire area, which covers Clackmannanshire, will not be made public until April 2008.

Irene Paterson, who works as an assistant in the Thornhill Road branch, said the closure would be a real blow to the local community.

She said the post office had already collected more than 600 signatures in protest, while local politicians were also being inundated with concerns.

She said: "People feel very strongly about this. If they come along to the public meeting tonight they can air their views."

Main branches or Crown offices are likely to be unaffected by the closure programme, as are those identified as having a high commercial value.

A Post Office Ltd spokesman said: "At the launch of the public consultation a full list of proposed changes to the Post Office network will be published, but until then it is impossible to speculate on the future of individual branches."

The public meeting will take place in Thornhill Community Centre at 1930 BST.