Post office campaigners "incensed" (From Stourbridge News)

Post office campaigners "incensed"

4:16pm Monday 9th February 2009 in News By Bev Holder

QUARRY Bank residents have been left “incensed” following the closure of not just their own beloved post office, but the next nearest branch at Merry Hill too.

Campaigners fought in vain to save Quarry Bank Post Office from the axe and the High Street facility shut up shop on February 3.

But now people in Quarry Bank cannot believe the closest remaining branch - located at Merry Hill - has also closed its doors “until further notice”.

Resident Brian Genner said: “We are absolutely incensed. The very next day (Wednesday February 4) without warning or prior comment - the first available alternative facility closes until further notice.

“The statistical arrangement used to sustain the Quarry Bank closure decision would have been knocked sideways by the stampede of users coming to Quarry Bank had the latter remained open for at least another 24 hours."

A Post Office spokesman confirmed the Merry Hill branch closed on February 4 and said: "We are working hard to reinstate Post Office services as quickly as possible. We would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience."

Meanwhile Mr Genner said campaigners were disgusted with the way they have been treated over the Post Office Ltd closure debacle.

On top of collecting thousands of signatures calling for Quarry Bank Post Office to be kept open - the group were hoping Minister for Postal Affairs Pat McFadden and independent watchdog group Postwatch (now Consumer Focus) would intervene and force a u-turn on Post Office Ltd’s cost-cutting closure programme - which they claimed was based on flawed statistics.

But neither the Minister or Postwatch has written back to the group, who call themselves the Friends of Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood Libraries and Community Facilities.

So they are now hoping to hold a public meeting in the coming weeks to see how they can salvage post office and other vital services in the Quarry Bank area.

The Post Office claims its closure programme was necessary to maintain a long-term future for the struggling service Postwatch - which became Consumer Focus on October 1 2008 - says it has no record of receiving any correspondence from the group.