With regard to NGM Heather’s letter about the closure of local post offices (Restore local post services first, Soapbox, April 20), I remember, with gratitude, as someone who runs a local business, Hugh Bayley’s crucial intervention in saving Micklegate post office.

He was able to argue that it should be saved as it was the third busiest post office in the city. I am sorry Clifton and other post offices are being closed, but this is because they have been losing business. Mr Bayley’s proposal for a nine-point plan for post offices would bring them more business and help prevent further closures.

Sadly, they will continue to be closed unless ways are found to make them more profitable.

Peter Miller, Spelmans Bookshop, Micklegate, York.



* WELL done to the member for York, Hugh Bayley, for taking up the matter of increased business rates with the Secretary of State for Local Government, Hazel Blears (Rates Response, The Press, April 21).

My Bayley goes on to say that Ms Blears has agreed to change the law to allow businesses to defer 60 per cent of the increase, and how good it is to have a government which listens.

What utter codswallop. Any sensible Government would have realised immediately that, during a recession, businesses are just not in a position to meet such increases.

With 40 per cent of the increase needing to be paid, and 60 per cent deferred, this will obviously create large amounts of paperwork.

This in turn will give the Government an opportunity to create another taxpayer-funded agency to manage the situation.

Please tell me it’s all going to end some time soon.

J H Roy, Hadrian Avenue, York.