Local anger at threat to close Impington post office

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 7th Jul 2008

Cllr David Jenkins

Histon and Impington residents and businesses have expressed anger about the Post Office's announced intention to close Impington post office.

Although this is a busy post office, it falls foul of the Post Office's proximity rule which does not support post offices being too close together. There is also a post office in Histon in the High Street.

What the Post Office has not considered of course is the notion that the 2 post offices serve distinctly different customer bases. Impington post office serves the businesses on Vision Park which require ready access to a post office during working hours. It also serves those Impington residents south of the old railway line for whom Histon post office is not a convenient alternative.

David Jenkins, County Councillor for Cottenham, Histon and Impington is against the closure. He commented:

"It's just too easy for the Post Office to apply arbitrary rules without considering the specific needs of communities. It seems uninterested in continuing to provide a service. It should instead be approaching communities and looking for ways of working together to maintain provision.

"Cambridgeshire Lib Dems are committed to supporting post offices under threat as long as there is local support, a committed post master/mistress and a sustainable business case. It appears that Impington post office meets these criteria and the Lib Dems will therefore be lobbying the County Council aggressively for such support."

ENDS