Post Office Closures Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Sheryll Murray
Main Page: Sheryll Murray (Conservative - South East Cornwall)Department Debates - View all Sheryll Murray's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(7 years ago)
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Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)
Thank you, Sir Edward. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen). I want to talk about three post offices in my area, the first of which is in Lostwithiel. The post office closed, but it now half-opens, for two days a week. Sadly that announcement was made on social media for political gain before consultation with the local community, but it was welcome. However, Lostwithiel is due to lose its permanent bank, and it will have a mobile banking service for two sessions a week. There is no bus service. I am pleading for the Minister to do everything she can to ensure that my constituents in that town, which is bereft of vital public services, can have a permanent post office again. It is an ancient stannary town. It has a lot of antiques businesses and privately owned local businesses. They need a permanent post office service that is open for hours that serve everyone in the community, particularly workers.
We have had a bit of a reprieve in Looe, where my late husband was a fisherman. We saw the post office closed in east Looe. Fortunately, just like in Lostwithiel with its two days, a hard-working postmaster from another village has come in and taken over. Working very closely with my local councillors and local council candidates, we have secured a temporary reprieve, but we need a permanent solution. It is a major tourist town. Tourists do not want to come to a town where they cannot even access post office services.
Finally, in Torpoint, which is very close to my home town, we have had the bank close. People have been told that to use banking services they can go to the post office or make a three-hour round trip. Someone has looked on a map and measured the distance and not taken account of the fact that, on the Rame peninsula, it is an hour and a half’s bus ride to access the alternative bank. The post office is already heavily used and people are very worried that it will not be able to cope with the extra pressure. Will the Minister take account of rural post office services in places such as South East Cornwall to ensure that people get the service they want?