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| Can Cornwall's rural post offices be saved? |
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Page 1 of 6 Jessica Tooze and George Thomas challenge the proposals that could change Cornish life forever As a business functioning at the heart of many rural communites, Cornwall’s isolated post offices are considered an indispensable public service. For those facing impaired mobility, or whose local bus routes are infrequent or non-existent, the ability to complete simple tasks such as collecting pensions and paying bills are entirely reliant on the provision of an accessible post office. It therefore comes as a huge, and hurtful blow to people in this situation that the Government plans to close 62 rural post offices across Cornwall, leaving thousands forced to travel miles to access the services many of us take for granted. Post offices in such locations have been receiving a Government subsidy to help them provide vital services. Now the Government wants to cut this subsidy by closing one in five Cornish branches.  Flushing Post Office. Facilities such as this will be missed by elderly residents in the area. Picture by Sam Batchelor. One of the first villages to experience the impact of a post office closure was Lanreath in 2004, offering a gloomy vision for the future of many smaller Cornish communities. Rita Hancock, secretary for Lanreath Community Association, said: “It made the village dead – whereas people were going to the shop and bumping into others on the way, once the place was closed, you could come down to the village and wouldn’t see a soul.” The closure was met with the most constructive response possible – the creation of a new post office and shop run and staffed by volunteers. While this was a small success story in coping with the loss of a necessity, it remains a daunting prospect for smaller villages findings themselves in the cross hairs. |
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