Sally Buchanan, the Post Office’s network development manager for Scotland, said, “Taking the decision to close any branch is always very difficult and we know will cause concern to many of our customers.”

A six-week public consultation exercise has now opened and local politicians have urged people to make their feelings known.

West End Councillor Fraser Macpherson described the likely losses as “a disgraceful reduction in services for the people of Dundee”.

“The loss of post offices will hit local communities hard. They are vital assets for many people and closing them will cause many difficulties for older people and others with mobility problems,” he said.

“I call for the current closure programme to be completely suspended. It has no public support and I call on the Dundee West Labour MP Jim McGovern to stand up for the people of the West End in opposing a loss of vital Post Office services.”

Dundee East MSP Shona Robison, whose constituency includes the Fairmuir and Ferry Road branches, said, “I believe that post office services are vital and particularly important to older members of the community.

“I am therefore especially concerned about the proposed closure of Fairmuir, as more than 22% of the population in the vicinity are retired and 52% have no car or van.”

Her SNP counterpart at Westminster, Stewart Hosie said Dundee East appeared to be getting off relatively lightly. However, he wanted to know what kind of outreach service would be put in place at Wellbank.

Marlyn Glen, Dundee-based Labour MSP for the north-east, said, “The communities affected can depend on my support if they decide to campaign against these proposals.”

Dundee councillor Jim Barrie said he was “dismayed” by the impending loss of two branches in his West End ward.

“In the feedback I am getting from residents, people are looking for more post offices, not fewer,” he said.

“A reduction in services offered at post office counters has led to this programme of closures.

“I will be speaking to residents at Nethergate, Lochee Road and Fairmuir to find out what their opinion is about these proposed closures. It is important for local people to make their views known.”

Under the Post Office plans announced today, Tayside, Fife and north-east Scotland will lose a total of 42 branches, leaving 374 still operating. It claims that 99.9% of the population will either see no change to their existing branch or will be within one mile of an alternative.

The closures and the switch to outreach services in rural areas is part of a UK-wide reduction of 2500 branches out a network of 14,000.

Ms Buchanan said, “The Post Office’s aim is to continue to provide essential services and support retail businesses and the local economy in as many communities as possible, subject to the minimum access criteria set by the Government.

“The rural communities in the north-east, Tayside and Fife will be served by a total of 276 branches, of which 127 provide the only access to cash in their communities.

“We believe these proposals offer the best prospect for a sustainable way forward for Post Office services, bearing in mind the minimum access criteria and the other factors to which we have to have regard.”

Across the region covered by the proposals, some 8.3% of customers use a branch that is proposed for closure. The Post Office claims that 8.2% will be within one mile of an alternative.

Independent watchdog Postwatch Scotland urged people to make their views known during the consultation period.

Chairman Alan Alexander said, “Post office closures are not good news for customers, but the Government has decided that a significant number are necessary to help put in place a sustainable network for the long-term.

“This is not a consultation about how many post offices will close. It is about ensuring the ones that are closed minimise inconvenience to customers.

“Across the north-east, Tayside and Fife we are encouraging the Post Office to work with stakeholders and in particular the local authorities to inform their final decisions.

“It is crucial that households and businesses provide feedback on proposals affecting their area.

“While petitions are useful in demonstrating strength of feeling, we hope respondents will set out, in detail, the local factors that are relevant to the proposals.

“Particularly useful would be details of how they will access alternative post offices and what impact this would have in terms of distance to travel and availability of public transport in the event of the proposal going ahead. Such engagement should help secure a better outcome.”

Mr Alexander urged that anyone who responded to the consultation send a copy of their comments to Postwatch to allow it to better understand local issues.

Comments should be addressed to Tricia Dow, Director, Postwatch Scotland, 9-10 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2AF or e-mailed to scotland@postwatch.co.uk

If the closures go ahead as planned, outgoing subpostmasters will be paid 28 months salary as compensation. Average subpostmaster salaries now stand at under £1000 a month, a fall of 6% in real terms since 2004.

Mr Farhat Baig, subpostmaster at Dundee’s Nethergate branch, said, “The news is sad for my staff, my customers and myself. This is our livelihood and suddenly it is gone.

“We guess that we serve around 1000 customers every week. We always seem busy and so the decision to earmark us for closure seems strange to me.

“We are in such a convenient location for those who use us in their lunch break and for some the extra journey of a mile is just too far if they are short of time.”

Full details of the branches set to be closed or replaced with outreach services is available online at www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange or by writing to Post Office Ltd at Freepost Consultation or emailing consultation@postoffice.co.uk.

A spokesman said, “The Post Office is now seeking views on the proposed future service provision in the area, including in particular views on access to services, the accessibility of alternative branches to those proposed for closure and the appropriate form of outreach service to be provided.

“Consultation is due to end on July 8.”

Dundee West MP Jim McGovern expressed his regret at the proposed closures, but also explained why a reduction in the branch network was necessary.

The UK Government has been over-seeing the process, although it is up to the Post Office to decide which branches are shut.

Mr McGovern said, “The closure of post offices is a very emotive subject. I have talked to a number of sub postmasters and sympathise entirely with them and their customers. However, the future of the Post Office relies on this programme of closures.

“Regrettably the facts are plain to see – £3.5 million of public money is subsidising post offices every week and the Post Office network has lost over 4 million customers a week in the past few years.

“When it comes to post offices, people are voting with their feet.

“Up to a million people each month choose to pay their car tax online instead of going into a post office to pay, eight out of 10 pensioners choose to get their pensions paid in to their bank account, even though they can pick up their pension from the post office, and among new retirees that figure increases to nine out of 10.

“The UK Government insisted that Post Office Ltd meet a minimum access criteria for proposed closures meaning that nationally 99% of the UK population will be within three miles and 90% of the population will be within one mile of their nearest post office outlet.

“In deprived urban areas 99% of the total population will be within one mile of their nearest post office.

“Whilst I understand that sub postmasters and the customers of those post offices proposed for closure will be unhappy, even after the current programme of closures, the Post Office network will still be larger than all of the banks put together and some three times larger than the top five supermarket chains put together.”