Petition to save Kendal Post Office hits 2,000 signatures as MP takes fight to Parliament

More than 2,000 people have signed local MP Tim Farron’s petition against the potential closure of Kendal's town centre post office.

The move comes as it was announced by Post Office Ltd that 115 directly operated post offices are at risk of closure.

The MP has taken the fight to Parliament, raising the campaign to keep Kendal Post Office open with the Minister in an Urgent Question.

The Minister stressed that ‘no decision has been made’ yet, but confirmed that the Post Office would be moving ahead with plans to consult with a view to shutting crown branches.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Tim said: “We are deeply alarmed that Kendal Crown post office appears on this list. Three years ago, the previous Government and the previous administration of Post Office Ltd also threatened Kendal Crown post office with closure. 

“We won our campaign to save it, in part because Post Office Ltd conceded that there was not enough space in WH Smith in Kendal to accommodate the post office. That has not changed. 

“Royal Mail may also lose its Kendal sorting office as a consequence of the closure. That has not changed either.

“What has changed is that two more high street banks - Halifax and Lloyds - have deserted Kendal town centre on the basis, they claim, that the post office down the road will be able to take up the slack. 

“Is this not the time to give guarantees to post offices such as the one in Kendal that they will remain a Crown office for the foreseeable future to support our town and our economy?

Gareth Thomas MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Services, Small Business and Exports, replied: “I say gently to the honourable Member that I absolutely recognise his point about the role that bank branches play in communities such as Kendal and about their retreat from our high streets. 

“The banks have a responsibility to work with the Post Office to make sure that communities can have access to the banking services that they need, particularly those offered through the post office. That is one reason why we want to significantly expand the number of banking hubs. 

“On the honourable Member’s point about the post office in Kendal, I simply underline the fact that no decisions have been made about Kendal or any other individual directly managed branch. 

“We expect the Post Office to talk to sub-postmasters, trade unions and other stakeholders about this process, but genuinely I say to him that there are significant additional costs associated with the directly managed branches and it is right that the Post Office looks at that as well.”

Tim’s petition can be signed here.