Coatshill residents fight to stop post office closure

Jul 31 2008 by Graham Fraser, Hamilton Advertiser

THE community of Coatshill this week turned out in force to oppose plans to shut the areas post office.

As the Advertiser revealed two weeks ago, Coatshill Post Office is one of 11 across Lanarkshire which is facing the axe under plans to restructure the national Post Office network.

About 250 residents of the Blantyre district turned up at a public meeting on Monday evening at the TACT Hall to voice their discontent.

A petition against the closure has already attracted nearly 1500 signatures.

Speakers at the meeting included Angela McCormack from watchdog Postwatch Scotland, independent Blantyre councillor Bert Thomson, Jim Botterill from Botterills Convenience store, Tommy McAvoy MP, Tom McCabe MSP, councillor Graeme Horne, and Tony Haggerty, post office manager for the Botterills store in Barrhead, which has already been saved from closure.

In what was seen by many as a snub to the people of Blantyre, Post Office Ltd didnt send along a representative to the meeting.

The company insisted they had to attend two similar meetings in Ayrshire.

Angela McCormack began proceedings by outlining what the people of Coatshill could do to save their post office.

She said: "I can't quite believe the turn-out. This is one of the best I have seen in meetings such as this.

"The national government has instructed the Post Office to close a number of offices to save the wider network, which is losing £3.5m every week.

"This is going to be down to you. If you want to save your post office in Coatshill, then you have to fight for it."

Amongst the measures she suggested is sending as many detailed letters of support for Coatshill as possible to Post Office management.

Councillor Thomson raised concerns of a Coatshill without a post office.

"This is the only post office that is open on a Sunday in Blantyre so it is vital to the local community," he said.

"There is a large elderly community and a number of young mothers in this area who rely on this service. We need to make the Post Office listen to us. We don't want Coatshill to become a concrete jungle."

Coatshill Post Office is located within Botterills convenience store.

Jim Botterill, the owner of the shop, made a presentation which cited facts and figures concerning the Coatshill Avenue post office branch.

He noted the post office is within a modern convenience store - which, Mr Botterill argued, is in line with the commitments of Post Office Ltd for the future.

Mr Botterill explained how Coatshill serves over 2000 transactions every week, while 600 pensioners use the office.

The shop owner warned that closure of Coatshill post office would lead to a probable loss of nine jobs.

One of the several members of the public who took the opportunity to speak was wheelchair user Joan Hamilton.

She said: "The wheelchair access at Glasgow Road is a joke. I struggled on the ramps last week to get into the store.

"What is it going to be like if that post office is forced to deal with thousands of more customers, many of them elderly?"

* If you would like to back Coatshill Post Office, write to Sally Buchanan, Network Development Manager, PO Ltd, Freepost Consulation Team.

Alternatively, write to Freepost Postwatch or e-mail saveyourpostoffice@botterills.net

The post office consulation into the viability of Coatshill and the other threatened offices ends on September 1.

The next public meeting to discuss the campaign to save Coatshill will be held on August 26 at 7.30pm at the TACT Hall. Post Office Ltd have confirmed they will send a representative to the meeting.