The Royal Mail has announced that it plans to close its Kidsgrove Delivery Office. Officially called the Royal Mail Kidsgrove Delivery Office/Depot the office, which is also known as the Royal Mail Sorting Office, is in Congleton Road, Butt Lane.
Joan Walley MP and my good self attended a meeting in Staffordshire yesterday (October 4th, 2011) when the shock proposals to close Kidsgrove’s Delivery Office were announced.
To close the office would be major blow to Kidsgrove, Butt Lane, Ravenscliffe, Talke, Talke Pits, Whitehill, Harriseahead, Newchapel, Mow Cop and other areas whose postal code starts with “ST7″.
The shock proposals include closing the Kidsgrove Delivery Office/Sorting Office within the next financial year which could mean the loss of over 70 jobs.
Royal Mail proposes to relocate all “ST7″ parcels and mail to the Church Lane Delivery Office based in Knutton.
This means that the elderly, the disabled and the most vulnerable residents in the Kidsgrove community will be forced to travel to Knutton Delivery Office to collect their mail, parcels etc.
Just imagine, you are out on a shopping trip and you arrive home to find a Royal Mail card on your doorstep informing you that the postman called and there was no-one in to take receipt of a recorded letter or parcel. You will then have to travel to Knutton, not an easy place to get to, and collect your mail/parcel from the office there.
Kidsgrove is an expanding community and by taking services out of Kidsgrove and re-locating them in Knutton the Royal Mail is setting a bad example and sending out the incorrect signals that Kidsgrove is closed for business.
Because Kidsgrove is an expanding town, I feel that Newcastle Council and Royal Mail should seek to invest in Kidsgrove. It is truly atrocious that the Royal Mail expects all residents to travel to Knutton to collect their mail.
Did you know that there are more residents residing in Kidsgrove than in Newcastle Town Centre?
Business users in the Kidsgrove District and other areas in the “ST7″ postcode will also have to travel to Knutton to collect their post and parcels. This will have a huge impact on their carbon footprint and increase costs during a period of austerity measures.
My colleagues and I will not sit back and let Royal Mail close the Kidsgrove Delivery Office and I understand that our MP is working hard behind the scenes to prevent the proposed closure.
The Phoenix Trust, which will be affected if the delivery office closes, supports Councillor Astle’s campaign to keep it open. As well as serving Kidsgrove, the office serves a large part of South East Cheshire an area that is even further away from Knutton. If you live in those parts of North Staffordshire and South Cheshire served by the Kidsgrove Delivery Office visit our discussion forum at: www.northstaffordshire.co.uk/discuss and tell us how the proposed closure will affect you and your family.
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Does anyone know why the Royal Mail has come up with this proposal? Those who made it seem to know nothing about the area or the problems people would face if they were forced to go to Knutton to collect their post.Surely it would be more economic to keep the Kidsgrove Delivery Office open and close the one at Knutton?