Post Office in Lytham saved from the chop!

Lytham’s doomed post office was today saved from the axe, while 11 others around the Fylde coast will close within a month.

After a six week consultation, Post Office bosses announced Lytham’s Warton Street branch would remain open to the public.

This comes after hundreds of angry people joined a mass protest through Lytham’s streets to save their local post office.

Postmaster Mark Bamforth was ecstatic with the news: “We were overjoyed when we heard the news. The family have worked here for 44 years; my mum still works with us. It’s as much a part of us as it is a part of the local community.”

“All our customers are so happy and relieved that their hard work has paid off and their local branch is staying open.”

However, as people in Lytham celebrated, locals in Wigan were outraged when their post office was added to the list of branches to shut in the North West.

Newburgh post office in Wigan will close in replacement for Warton Street, Lytham.

Ann Maudsley, 67, of Ranleigh Drive, Wigan said: “Why should our local post office close because another one has stayed open. They shouldn’t be closing at all. It’s ridiculous.”

Mark shared his unhappiness with this decision, “Obviously we’re dismayed that the branch in Wigan might have to shut instead of us. It shouldn’t be tit for tat.”

The campaign to keep the post office in Lytham open, headed by Fylde MP Michael Jacks and Mark and his family, saw over 2000 people sign petitions and march through Lytham’s streets.

Mark said: “It was an overwhelming, emotional day. People of all ages, some who had never protested about anything in their lives, joined us to show their support.”
“There was a great sense of community that day and that’s something that is becoming rare these days.”

Old industrial land in Lytham Quays is being developed to provide over 200 new houses and flats. The influx of people and proposed regeneration in the area will place extra demand on resources already struggling to cope.

Mark said: “Lytham is going to rapidly grow over the next few years. Hundreds of new homes and flats are being built.”

“If our office closed, the other branches would have been put under too much pressure.”

The nearest branch from the Warton Street office, over half a mile away would have made an already difficult journey impossible for some of Lytham’s elderly residents.

Mark said: “The council said inconvenienced customers could use the bus to travel to nearby branches. They don’t take into account though that the elderly and people with buggies can’t even get on them because the platforms are too high.”

Concerns were also expressed with vulnerable elderly people travelling further. Mark commented: “In today’s unsafe society their safety would be greatly compromised if they have to travel further with their money.”

Richard Collins, 51, of Mythop Road, Lytham said: “My mother comes here every week for her pension. She’s independent but finds it hard to get around. We both felt very strongly about the proposals and joined the demonstrations to keep the post office open.”

Julie Broadley, 46, of Ballam Road, Lytham added: “It’s not just a post office. Mark and his family have been here as long as I can remember. Everyone knows them. It’s a great achievement for them and the people in the community that it’s staying open.”

Campaigns to save other blacklisted post offices in Lancashire are on going. However, Post Office bosses released initial closure dates this week, making their futures look uncertain.