Welcome to Hitchin & Harpenden Liberal Democrats!

Post offices closing in Hitchin and Harpenden

Station Road post office - still under threat

Following hard on the heels of the news that 5 of St Albans post offices are to go as part of the Government's cuts on local services comes the news Harpenden has been dreading - Station Road North Post Office is to join them.

Local Liberal Democrats are pleased that all political parties and community groups are joining together to fight this closure - as only a concerted campaign by the whole community can save what is believed to be Harpenden's first post office, which has served East Harpenden and Batford for more than 120 years.

"The people most affected by these closures will be the old, the infirm and the vulnerable, many of whom rely on their local Post Office and who are not able to simply walk - or more likely drive - to the next nearest branch. And in these days of increasing concern about identity theft and fraud, it is just plain stupid to remove the most secure form of transaction - the cross counter relationship at one's local Post Office branch."

Local councillor Alison Steer said, "We must fight this closure with all our hearts and minds. I urge local people to sign our petition, which will be widely available, but more importantly, to write to the Post Office consultation to record your objection."

As if the cuts in Harpenden were not bad enough, Nigel Quinton is appalled at the news that the north of the constituency is to lose four post offices.

Blakes Corner in Hitchin, St Ippolyts, Hexton and Whitwell are all on the list for closure announced today by the Post Office.

Looking at the proposed closures Nigel was very concerned for people in the outlying areas - losing post offices at Whitwell, Hexton and St Ippolyts will be a huge blow for local people and will inevitably lead to more car journeys into neighbouring towns. "How can we take this government seriously on climate change when it introduces policies like this?" he asked. "And whereas other areas have been promised so-called outreach services for rural areas to partly make up for the closures, it is striking that we have been promised nothing here."

Nigel had this to say about the national policy of Post Office Closures: "It has been great to see all parties working together to fight local closures in St Albans and other areas. For the moment we must put all political differences aside and set about writing letters to the consultation to protest in the loudest possible way. Ultimately though, we would like the other political parties to do more than just campaign for their local post office - we want them to endorse the plans we published in 2006 that set out a radical transformation of the Post Office Network, which would be separated from Royal Mail and recognised as the social service that it is. Only in this way can the future of our Post Office service be preserved."

Please sign our petition at:

Post Office Petition.

In these days when Labour and Conservatives are almost indivisible on policy, it is the Liberal Democrats who offer the only real alternative - FREER, FAIRER AND GREENER.

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.

- preamble to the Liberal Democrat Party constitution

Political parties join forces to save Harpenden's oldest Post Office Tue 5th Aug 2008 Following the well attended public meeting on 23rd July, a "Campaign Committee" has been established with representatives from across Harpenden's political spectrum. Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Nigel Quinton and colleagues Jeff Phillips and Cllr Alison Steer have joined with local Conservative councillors Mike Wakely and Julie Bell and put aside party differences to work together to try to save Station Road North Post Office (as the Post Office call it) from closure.

Read "Political parties join forces to save Harpenden's oldest Post Office" in full (2417 bytes).

Archive of earlier news stories.