| Today marks the end of the six-week consultation on proposals to close four Dundee post offices, and Mr Keenan said it was bad for customers and post office staff alike to be left in limbo about whether the branches were going to be closed or saved.
The branches facing the axe are Nethergate and Lochee Road in the West End council ward, Ferry Road in Maryfield and Fairmuir at Clepington Road in Coldside.
They are part of a programme aimed at cutting the post office network across the UK by 2500 branches.
Councillors of all parties unanimously condemned the closure plans and supported a motion by Mr Keenan seeking retention of the post offices because of their crucial importance to local communities.
Direct representations to Post Office Ltd against the proposed closures have been made by councillors for all the wards where the threatened branches are located.
The most recent came from Coldside councillors Helen Wright and Mohammed Asif, who submitted a list of reasons for retaining the Fairmuir branch.
Not least is the fact the branch serves an area which has three sheltered housing complexes nearby.
In total, the three complexes have 125 sheltered housing units — 61 at a development in Clepington Road, 42 at Wedderburn Street and 22 at the former Rockwell Works.
In a letter to Post Office Ltd the councillors said they were urging the retention of the Fairmuir branch for the benefit of their constituents, many of whom are elderly and infirm.
“The journey to the nearest alternatives is exacerbated by very hilly terrain, and the area has already lost post office services in past years with the removal of the post office at the roundabout on Kingsway/Strathmartine Road,” they said.
“In addition to this, planning applications for new housing developments (in the area) are expected in the near future.” |
