Post Office Closures

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Westminster Hall

[Robbie Moore (Keighley) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I also associate myself with the comments made about Sir David Amess. I congratulate the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows) on securing this important debate. Post offices are the lifeline of communities, especially those in rural areas. The services they provide are vital, including keeping people and loved ones connected. They also provide financial services, which is particularly important in the light of the closure of many high street banks.

I am grateful to have this time to talk about a live issue in my constituency, where Post Office proposes the closure of the Haworth Main Street post office. That is causing a huge issue for many of my constituents in Haworth, the Worth valley and the wider area. In July 2021, Post Office served notice on the sub-postmaster of the Haworth post office that it was to close the service, before launching a consultation. I want to delve deeper into that issue, because I think it is worth noting.

The Post Office informed my sub-postmaster that it would be closing their service and at the same time opening just a desk-based service at the local Co-op at the other end of the village. For those that may not know Haworth, topography and accessibility is a huge issue. The Haworth post office is located at the top of Main Street, right at the top of the village, and the Co-op is located right down at the bottom of the village, down two very steep hills. That makes the service offering very inaccessible for the elderly population living at the top of the village, particularly when a much lesser service offering is proposed at the Co-op.

It creates huge challenges for many businesses along Main Street that use that post office service, including the Brontë Parsonage. Many other locals come to visit Haworth and use the only cash machine, which is located in the Haworth Main Street post office. The consultation process over the summer has been a complete sham. It has not looked at all at the needs of my community. It has not looked at all at the accessibility issues of many of my residents, who will be struggling to use the Co-op service.

I want to pick up on a point eloquently made by the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw on the issue of Post Office Ltd putting all its eggs in one basket. If it is going down a route where it specifically looks at putting all its post office services in WHSmith or the Co-op, what if those big service providers decide to cut those services? What does it say for the independent providers, such as the one at the top of Haworth Main Street, that are able to service their communities, who they know best?

The campaign in my constituency has been rolling at a huge pace. We have a fantastic local campaign team. Our parish council and the three district councillors have been very supportive in putting weight and pressure on Post Office Ltd to listen. As a result, I submitted a petition in the Chamber signed by over 7,000 of my constituents, putting pressure on Post Office Ltd to listen. We must maintain our service offering at the top of Main Street, so that my residents feel engaged with the process and can access a good post office service.

To summarise, the message from my constituents in Haworth and the wider Worth valley is very clear. We want to see our Haworth post office at the top of Main Street open, so that residents are able to access that facility and so that we do not feel disengaged. I hope that Post Office Ltd is listening, and that the Government use their weight to put pressure on the Post Office to maintain that service.