Public opinion split on post office closure moves

Cannock, Willenhall and Kidderminster are among the branches that could be affected under the money-saving measures.

However, customers across the region have mixed thoughts on the proposal, with some branding it a "a bad idea" while others said "it made sense". A public consultation will give people the chance to have their say over the plans.

Bosses have stressed if no shops can be found to house Post Office services, the branches will remain open. Customers in Willenhall today said it would be "a shame" if the Post Office closed at its current John Street base to move into a different unit.

Hazel Bridgwood, a great-grandmother-of-seven, travels from Portobello to use Willenhall after the services closer to her home were stopped. The retired shop worker said: "It would be a shame if it went. There may be some advantages of having services in another shop but I wonder if we would get the same services."

Gillian Causer, a mother-of-three, from Gough Street, Willenhall, added: "I think it's a bad idea. There are so many people who use the Post Office."

Mrs Causer's mother-in-law Patricia Law, aged 71, said: "They should keep the Post Office as it is. I can't see how changes would help anyone. People have been used to going to the Post Office for decades so why change it all now?"

Retired factory worker Pauline Thomas, of Vernon Close, Portobello, said that she feared the move might mean even longer queues. "There may be some advantages to a change but it could also create longer queues in the shops with people waiting to buy other things," she said.

Great-grandfather John Jenkins, aged 78, a retired wood pattern maker, said: "The staff here are always helpful so I would prefer if there was no change." He added: "I would prefer things to stay as they are."

Meanwhile, shoppers in Cannock had a more mixed reaction to the news the Church Street branch is among those which could be affected. Grandmother-of-four Kath Williams, a housewife of Great Wyrley, said: "It does make sense. It's convenient, especially if you're going into that shop anyway."

Lydia Hurmson, who was shopping in Cannock but lives in Penkridge, said: "The Post Office operates from a shop in Penkridge and it works very well there."

She added the town's original site had been in Newhall Street but had been moved to the current location in Church Street some years ago.

Kidderminster Post Office has also been identified as a branch which could close and services moved into an existing shop or unit elsewhere in the town centre. Union chiefs have hit out at the proposals, claiming they will have an impact on the high streets of small towns and city centres.

Post Office bosses said there will be no compulsory redundancies and stressed they were committed to keeping a Crown Post Office if no retail partner is found.

Councillor John Campion, leader of Wyre Forest District Council, said: "The most important thing is not necessarily that the Post Office remains at Crown House, but that the services are retained in the town centre. The devil will be in the detail."