Public meeting on Blantyre Post Office closure

Jul 24 2008 by Graham Fraser, Hamilton Advertiser

THE FIGHT to keep Coatshill Post Office open has stepped up a gear.

As the Advertiser revealed last week, the Coatshill Avenue amenity, which is part of Botterills convenience store, is facing the axe.

The Blantyre office is one of 11 across Lanarkshire which is threatened with closure.

A public meeting will be held at the TACT Hall next Monday, July 28, at 7pm to organise a ‘Save Coatshill Post Office’ campaign.

Independent councillor Bert Thomson is worried the closure of the post office could lead to job losses among staff who had worked there for up to 18 years.

He said: “It has been very encouraging so far to see the response of people not just in Coatshill, but across Blantyre. Several people have told me they will be coming to the meeting.”

“The Post Office have a fight on their hands if they want to close something that has been in this community for so long.”

Barbara Travers (53), manageress of Coatshill Post Office, added: “We are really hoping to get a good response at the TACT Hall. People are really unhappy about the possibility of this office closing.

“If Coatshill were to close, I am sure it would not only affect staffing here, but surrounding shops would also lose some business.”

A petition was launched last week to attract support for the Coatshill branch.

Botterill Community Stores chairman Jim Botterill, who was notified of the closure proposal a month ago, commented: “The petition has been going very well.

“I am also in the process of drawing up a letter in support of the post office.

“People at the TACT Hall have intimated to me that they are worried the facility won’t be big enough to hold all the people who intend to go. There has been a tremendous public reaction to it so far.”

Post Office Ltd have opened a six-week public consulation on Coatshill and other threatened offices across the Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire areas.

They hope for opinions on a number of issues, including access to alternative branches to those proposed for closure. The consultation ends on September 1.