Save Marsden Road Post Office

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sun 27th Jul 2008

Nigel Quinton and Tony Skottowe campaigning outside Marsden Road Post Office

Local activist Nigel Quinton and Councillor Tony Skottowe campaigning outside Marsden Road post office

Nigel Quinton and Tony Skottowe have joined forces with Conservative councillors and MP Grant Shapps under the leadership of ex-councillor Dennis Lewis and formed a "Council of War" to support Richard Edlin, who is manager of Marsden Stores where the post office is situated. Tony Skottowe, leader of the LibDem group on the council proposed a motion to against post office closures. This was at the full council meeting in July. All parties supported the motion, which, with amendments, was unanimously passed. Richard Edlin presented a petition at the same meeting.

Letters were sent to all groups who might want to support the campaign, including the county and borough councils, and we have already had one public march, as many of you may know. At lunch time on Wednesday, a devoted band of Handside campaigners went to join the queue in the main post office to demonstrate how unmanageable the influx of Handside post office users would be for the town centre post office. These included Councillor Louise Lotz, Councillor Fiona Thompson and Dennis Lewis. Tony Skottowe could not be there, as he was at work.

The final event was on 25th July, at midday, when a very impressive band of people, including many in wheelchairs gathered outside the Post Office for a rally. This was attended by about 200 stalwart members of the community, and Grant Shapps, the MP was also there. Councillors Louise Lotz and Tony Skottowe represented the Liberal Democrats, and Fiona Thompson was there as the Handside representative for the Tories. There was no representative from Labour. Plenty of wheelchairs and buggies turned up, which makde the point that it is the less mobile members of our society who will be most threatened by this closure. Press and TV were present, along with plenty of willing wheelchair pushers! This was a day for our community to come out in force.