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CORNWALL COUNCIL PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR POST OFFICES

Members of Cornwall Council are to investigate how the Council can support post offices in the region.


Members at this week’s meeting of the full Council unanimously supported a Notice of Motion from County Councillors Joyce Mepsted and Eric Parkin calling on the Council to continue to investigate how it can support post offices in Cornwall.

They also agreed to invite interested parties to a special meeting of the Community Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee to discuss ways in which the Council can improve the viability of the service, including the possibility of using post offices to deliver Council services.

Explaining that consultation on the future of post offices in Cornwall was expected to take place in July, Joyce Mepsted ( Lib Dem), said she was very concerned at the potential loss of post offices in a rural area such as Cornwall where local facilities provide the heartbeat of rural communities.

“Closing post offices will have a major impact on isolated areas where communities rely heavily on local services “ she said. “Essex County Council are pioneering ways of supporting their local post offices and we need to look at what they are doing to see if we can use post offices in Cornwall to deliver Council services. “

“Post offices provide an essential service in rural areas such as Cornwall and we need to do all we can to keep them alive”.

Her call for action was supported by Eric Parkin, ( Lib Dem), who seconded the Motion, saying that local post offices were an important and much needed service in rural areas.

The Motion was also supported by Stephen Barnes ( Labour) , who also proposed holding a special meeting of the Community Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee with all interested parties to discuss the issues.

“We need to bring all the interested parties together look at all the ways in which the Council can support our post offices “he said.

Members agreed unanimously to support the Motion and to stage a special meeting to discuss the issues.