CLOSURE OF POST OFFICES IN HARROGATE AND KNARESBOROUGH

That this House notes with concern and astonishment the announcement of the planned closure of the Cold Bath Road, High Harrogate, Leeds Road and Stockwell Knaresborough branches of the Post Office in Harrogate and Knaresborough; believes that post offices offer a vital service to the community; further believes that the closures are likely to have a particularly negative impact on elderly and disabled members of the community who rely on the Post Office for a range of vital services and that these closures could result in the degradation of the local communities; and is deeply disturbed that the promises made by the Post Office during the 2003-04 closure programme appear to have been abandoned.