Campaign delivers on promise to keep mail office open
Royal Mail Bulwell
A STRONG campaign to save Bulwell’s Royal Mail delivery office from closure has been stamped with success.
The decision not to axe the Highbury Road office (pictured) has been welcomed as ‘fantastic news’ by Coun Nick McDonald, a Labour member for Bulwell Forest ward on Nottingham City Council. He thanked 300 people who had signed a petition, calling for the office to be retained.
Coun McDonald travelled with Bulwell’s Labour MP, Graham Allen, for a meeting with Royal Mail at Westminster in January.
Royal Mail had launched a consultation with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) about merging the office with one on Glaisdale Drive, Bilborough.
This suggestion would have meant a six-mile round trip for Bulwell residents to collect mail.
Mr Allen, who gave his support to the anti-closure campaign, said he had been told the office would remain open for the foreseeable future. He described it as a ‘victory for common sense’.
Mr Allen stressed that a big thankyou was due to members of the public who backed the campaign, as well as local councillors for tireless lobbying and the CWU for mobilising its members to fight the closure plan.
He gave the example of how the closure would have adversely affected a disabled woman in Bulwell.
“She told me that she could not get to her door in time for the postman if he was delivering a parcel to her,” said Mr Allen. “If the Bulwell office was not there any more, she would have had to catch two buses in each direction with a half-mile walk each way to collect the package.”
Coun McDonald, who is the council’s executive assistant for economic development, said he was delighted that local residents would still be able to benefit from the important service which the office provided.
He thought credit was due to Royal Mail for ‘seeing the sense’ in the representations made to it.
Royal Mail spokeswoman Val Bodden said the there had been an ongoing consultation over the plans.
She added: “After carefully studying all aspects of the plans, it has been decided to defer a decision on this merger and continue to explore all other options.”
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Saturday 25 May 2013
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