Contact/Cyswllt:  Sian Cliff
02920 898342 / sian.cliff@wales.gov.uk

With the pending announcement on Post Office closures in Mid Wales, Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates has slammed the Labour-Plaid failure to support the Post Office network, following their announcement that the Post Office Development Fund will not be re-opened until 2009.

The Post Office Development Fund was established by the Welsh Liberal Democrats in government but put on hold by Labour. By targeting post offices in the most deprived and isolated areas of Wales, the Fund assisted 106 post offices to remain open between 2002 and 2004, but Ministers revealed today that the long awaited re-opening of the Fund will not take place until 2009.

Welsh liberal Democrat Mick Bates comments:

“I am pleased that the government has finally committed to re-opening the Post Office Development Fund but 2009 will be too late for so many of our local post offices in Mid Wales.

“The Post Office is a vital local service and is essential to retaining vibrant communities both in rural and urban Wales. Money available under the Post Office Development Fund is crucial to giving post offices the freedom to revitalise their business and to prosper.

“Llandinam Post Office in Montgomeryshire is a shining example of the success of this scheme. With the vital support of the fund this local post office has managed to increase the viability of its business by offering banking services and selling local produce, increasing transactions by over 60%.”

The Post Office Development Fund made £4.1million of grant support available to post offices located in or serving the 125 most deprived and 125 most isolated communities across Wales.

Concerned also about Post Offices that received grant funding before the Fund was put on hold and which may now be forced to close, Mick added:

“The Labour-Plaid government has the discretion to claw back grant money awarded to post offices that close too early under conditions of the scheme. This could have devastating effects on the eight post offices in the most rural parts of Montgomeryshire that benefited under the Fund.

“Postmasters have enough to worry about awaiting the decision on closures in March, without additional concern about whether they will need to repay grants. It does not seem possible that a Post Office could be supported on the one hand and then when forced to close, be required to pay back grant received years earlier.

“The battle to save post offices is at the very heart of our campaign to keep local services alive. Modernisation of the Post Office network, not the closure of 2,500 post offices must be the way forward.”
 

End / Diwedd


Notes:

The PODF assisted 106 post offices to remain open between 2002 and 2004 and in total provided £4.1 million in support.

The objective of PODF was ‘to support the retention and development of post offices in disadvantaged communities across Wales’, by promoting diversification and increasing viability.

Sub-postmasters in eligible areas were invited to apply for grants of up to £50,000 each to renovate their post offices and widen the range of services and products offered to their customers. The fund closed in July 2004 and has yet to re-open.