LISKEARD’S two county councillors, Nick Craker and Jane Pascoe, say they will continue to ask questions of those in charge of the town’s Post Office, which has been earmarked as one of 115 sites nationally set for potential closure.

New Post Office chairman, Nigel Railton, announced earlier this month that Post Office was seeking to offload the branches, known as Crown Post Offices, and transfer them to either retail partners or postmasters – or potentially close them.

Liskeard, along with Newquay Post Office, were both on the threatened list, prompting Cllrs Craker and Pascoe to write immediately to Mr Railton, expressing their grave concerns any closure would have on the people of the town.

In a reply to the two councillors, the Post Office stated: “We appreciate that your constituents are concerned about what’s being reported in the press regarding our directly managed branches.

“The majority of the Post Offices in the network operate as a franchise and a small number are directly managed by Post Office, including Liskeard Post Office.

“It may be helpful to explain that Post Office has recently undertaken a business-wide strategic review aimed at building a Post Office that is fit for the future and more financially sustainable. Following the review, we are considering a range of options to reduce our central costs.

“We have long held a publicly stated ambition to move our Directly Managed branches to a fully franchised network. We are in dialogue with the unions about future options for this part of the network – and we will consult with them before making any decisions. We haven’t made any final decisions about any of the Directly Managed branches.

“I can assure you that we remain committed to meeting the current requirements to have at least 11,5000 branches across the UK, as well as to meet the Access Criteria while protecting Post Office’s long legacy of delivering social value.

“I hope this helps to clarify the current situation – and if there are changes to the Post Office service at Liskeard, we will contact you with some more information.”

Whilst appreciative of the swift response from the Post Office, Cllr Craker insists many questions still remain and that it is imperative he and Cllr Pascoe are included in any future decision-making process.

“It feels like they’ve made this announcement without really saying anything,” said Cllr Craker. “There has been a lot in the local and national media about the list of post offices threatened, yet they haven’t really said anything meaningful.

“I know they are talking to the unions, which is good news, but I think we as a community are an equally important stakeholder to be talking to about ideas and plans for Liskeard, just because we are the people who live here and who know our community the best.

“Whether that’s a question about the building, alternative locations, potential business partners or just retailers to talk to, just having that local knowledge and input I think could be really beneficial to them.”

Cllr Craker says this latest response from the Post Office just adds to the uncertainty surrounding the whole process.

“The whole communication from them seems a little bit bitty and not particularly joined up,” he added. “The whole point of our letter and the need for us to be included in future discussions is that we have to stress the important of the Post Office to the people of Liskeard and its surrounding areas.

“What we have done is fired an opening shot to say we do care about this in Liskeard and that we will fight to retain a Post Office in our town centre. They need to know that a trip to the Post Office is quite often linked with many other things within the town, whether that be going to the GP, the chemist, the newsagents or even a coffee or lunch.”

Cllr Craker’s comments have been echoed by Cllr Pascoe, who said: “The vague announcement has plunged the local community into confusion and trepidation. I have been contacted by troubled elderly residents, many of whom rely heavily on the Post Office for their transactions because they do not have digital devices or WiFi.

“They simply ask me: ‘What do we do now?’ and ‘How on earth will we manage?’

“The Liskeard Post Office serves a catchment areas of up to 38,000 and there are few sub post offices left in the outlying rural villages. It is disappointing that they have no contingency plans in place or at least discussions with stakeholders in the town before making this announcement.

“Clearly, we shall strongly campaign to keep a Post Office in the town centre and will continue to ask to be included in discussions. We will make them understand how important this service is to the local people in a rural area.”