The placing of Crowmarsh Gifford sub-post office on the list for possible closure is an ill-conceived and badly thought-out proposal. This is a branch which is efficiently run and makes money for the Post Office.
It serves a wide community and people from all over south Oxfordshire use it, mainly because of the current dissatisfaction with the facilities which are operating in Wallingford, Benson and Cholsey - the offices the Post Office is proposing the residents of Crowmarsh should use.
Crowmarsh Gifford has a high employment level which exceeds its residents. It has the district council offices, Howbery Business Park, the Environment Agency, CEH and many more businesses, whose employees all use this post office.
At present, Crowmarsh Gifford is rated as one of the larger sustainable villages in the district council core strategy planning paper, because of its employment level and the available facilities, which includes a post office, and is therefore rated suitable for development.
Crowmarsh will grow substantially over the next 20 years.
Two sites have been earmarked in the above paper for 200 new houses and employment will rise as the Howbery Business Park develops.
The Post Office it would seem is taking a very short-sighted attitude to the future of our village.
This paper also encourages sustainable settlements with low carbon emissions. Forcing people to travel to a post office will only increase carbon emissions.
The closure of this post office will cause great inconvenience to the people who live and work in this area and increase congestion in Wallingford, without making any saving for the Post Office.
It must be resisted.
NIGEL HANNIGAN Vice-chairman Crowmarsh Parish Council
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