The Clitheroe


Thursday, January 24th,, 2008 No. 6,338 JBbHM


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PAGES ost offices byFaizaAfzaal THREE Ribble Valley post offices


are facing the axe, Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans has


described the move as "ripping the guts out of rural communities”, K, Ro3^ Mail is relying on government subsidies, but is al^ losing millions of pounds every week, •A six*week consultation period over


the proposal began oh Tuesday by Post Office Ltd,


, V.The post offices under,threat are part of a wide^anging review of postal '. ., services arid are ,in;BilIiiigton,;MeUor:


■ Bnxhk tmd Nev^rtim, ’ Meanwhile, thtee other village post


",<ificea are prt^bsed for replaceraratby - .ah“outieadiscdution",


,


.- This means “ihnoTOtive ways” will be used to contiiiue to provide Post ' Office services in Bashall Eaves,


' Bolton-By-Bowlahd and Chipping, :; These could include a mobile service.


1 • a host^^ service operated within a third part premises for restricted


j . ; ; , hours each week, or a partner service ; within the premises of a local partner


such as a pub landlord. iThe full sched­ ule of closures includes 59 branches across Lancashire, including six in Burnley, five in Nelson, four in Hynd- bum and one each in Blackburn and Darwen. According to Post Office Ltd, if the


closures go ahead, 99.6% of the areals population will either see no change, or will remain within one mile of an alter­


native branch. Mr Evans said that, if given the go-


ahead, it will be the final nail in the c^fin. ■ "These plans seem intent on ripping the guts out of rm l communities. For idl.intents and purposes, this seems like a ‘Beechingisatibn’ of the Post Office Network." "I fear that rural areas will suffer


from this limited service in the sm e way that they did when Dr Beeching decimated the rural railway network.” Mrs Susan Robinson, sub-post­


mistress of Billington Post Office has been running the office for the past four years and the retail section for the past fiw. Although she stress^ it will be busine^ as usual in the retail side of things, she said the loss of the valuable


post office facility will hit the elderly and disabled the hardest. “The news of the closure is a devas-


' taring blow to elderly and disabled res-. idents in the area who will now have to travel to Whalley to collect their pen­ sions and other benefits. Plus, the clo­ sure will result in the loss of two jobs,” she added. "The services provided by a village


post office are very important and we continue to be busy on a daily basis. We are normally serving 30 to 40 cus­ tomers alone on Monday mornings. And it is not just about collecting ben­ efits. People come in for rtamps and other things and there has been an increase in the collection and delivering of parcels since the introduction of the internet and e-bay.” Meanwhile, Ribble Valley Borough


Council leader Michael Ranson said: "This is absolutely diabolical. We are very much against the closure of any post office in Ribble Valley and will be making strong representations to Post Office Ltd. "Councillors are united in this issue


and our objection to the proposed clo­ sures has cross-party support.”


A ll aboard for trip home!


AS raging flood waters continued to threaten vast stretches of the Ribblc Valley, local farmers came to the rescue of Sabden school- children who were unable to make them way to safety through the deep water on the village roads, (B210108/1I) • Flood roundup - see page 2


• Two-page picture specif - see pages 10 and 11 O Slideshow special at www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk


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accident PAGE 68


PROBLEMS AT ST MARY’S - TRINITY CONFIRMS IT IS TO PULL OUT - FULL STORY PAGE 23 GLITHEROE CARPET MILL SHOP


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