Post office idea is good

2:23pm Monday 10th March 2008

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JUDGING by the attitude of Post Office bosses, the campaign to save 24 threatened Lancashire branches looks doomed.

Managers would not even accept petitions with thousands of names when the Lancashire Telegraph went to present them.

Bosses said they did not think such petitions carried much weight', sparking outrage among residents worried about the loss of a vital community services.

So today Lancashire County Council must be praised for devising an eye-catching contingency plan.

County Councillor Tony Martin says the council is looking into taking over services from threatened post offices and running them from some of their 84 libraries.

He warns it is early days and may come to nothing' with costs, staff training issues and security concerns to be considered.

The scenario would not be as good as the village post offices remaining open, but, in the circumstances, it is an acceptable second option.

It would allow local people access to services without having to travel for miles.

The action of the county council shows how important the branches are valued locally.

We should not be in a position of having to come up with our own creative ideas to keep post offices.

But that is the reality and we hope the county council can see this scheme through to fruition.