The two post offices, located on Forest Road and Manor Road, will be closed on May 7, with other local post offices being closed between April 29 and May 11.
Forest Road Post Office employs two staff, Jude and Caroline Cropper, who have been in charge of the post office for nine years.
Post mistress Caroline Cropper told the Southport Visiter: “We are devastated and just trying to get our heads around the decision. It will affect the elderly the most, a lot of them don’t have their own transport and will really struggle getting to a new branch.
“The Post Office said they have made a fully assessed decision so we can only go by their word. We’d like to thank everyone who has supported us over the last couple of months.”
Southport MP John Pugh at Downing Street protesting the closures, with Cllr Colin Elderidge
(Image from Flickr user libdems)
However, the Forest Road Post Office closure will have a smaller impact on the local community than other closures across the region, due to it being located near the central Southport post office.
This Google map shows all the post offices in the local area which will be closed.
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Many of the post offices across Lancashire which are to close are in the more rural areas, which will make it harder for local residents to get to their local post offices, especially elderly people or those without cars.
The residents of the village of Shirdley Hill, in Ormskirk will be some of the worst hit.
After the closure of the local post office, their nearest post office will be 1.6 miles away in Southport.
There is only one bus which services Southport and Shirdley Hill, which is only every 30 minutes.
However, this service does not go by the nearest post offices, so residents will either have to catch another bus, or walk to it, which is not convenient for those who cannot get around easily.
The Post Office say that the changes will not affect many people, with 99% of the population being within 3 miles of their nearest post office, and 90% of the population to be within 1 mile of their nearest post office.
As well as the closures, six post offices in the region will be replaced by outreach outlets, which are reduced hours openings held in local places, mainly village and church halls.
The post offices being replaced by outreach outlets will be the Bashell Eaves branch in Clitheroe, the Bolton by Bowland branch in Clitheroe, the Calder Vale branch in Preston, the Glasson Dock branch in Lancaster, the Quernmore branch in Lancaster, and the Chipping branch in Preston.
Royal Mail say that these outlets will “transact core Post Office products and services”, however, they do not specify what these will be.
Post offices, especially rural ones, are relied on by people for not only sending post, but for collecting benefits and pensions, and paying car tax.
These sorts of services are vital for people without bank accounts or access to the internet, generally the more elderly people.
Overall, Royal Mail are to close 2500 post offices across the UK, with 500 of these becoming outreach units, after making losses of £4 million a week in 2006.
Southport Visiter: Southport's Forest Road and Manor Road post offices WILL close
