John Redwood has today written to Pat McFadden, Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform responsible for Royal Mail, asking him to look into the sudden closure of the Post Office on Eversley Road in Arborfield and ensure that another operator will be found so postal facilities in the area can be retained.
In his letter to Pat McFadden, John wrote:
“The closure of Arborfield Post Office would cause considerable difficulties for many local residents, particularly as the recent review of postal services deemed that the London Road and Barkham Road Post Offices in the constituency are to close.
I understand that, as Arborfield does not appear on any list of Post Offices which are due to close, Royal Mail is obliged to do what it can to help maintain the same level of postal facilities in the immediate area.
I would be grateful if you could also look into this matter and see if there is any action that can be taken to protect postal services for Arborfield residents in light of the strength of feeling amongst the local community over what would be a huge inconvenience for many of my constituents”.
Speaking about the potential loss of a third Post Office in his constituency, John Redwood said:
“There is a general feeling that communities like Wokingham have borne the brunt of the Government’s sweeping closure of local Post Offices. Having already been told that we are to lose two branches, it would be unacceptable for a third one to go without serious attempts being made by Royal Mail to find an alternative operator. I want to see postal services in Wokingham strengthened and retained and will press the appropriate authorities to do so”.
November 20, 2008
The loss of this Post Office is causing major problems for the residents of the village many of whom are elderly.
There is clearly an urgent need for this service to be restored to Arborfield.