I AM amazed at the proposed closure of the post offices in York and at the arbitrary way in which it has been decided to accomplish this.

These closures are not related to customer convenience or financial success but basically because certain postmasters wish to retire.

What a way to run a business! If these people wish to retire the Post Office should find alternatives.

I object principally to the closure of the Bishopthorpe Road post office. No figures are quoted either of user numbers or of the financial viability of the branches concerned, so no one knows how many hundreds of customers are to tramp the necessary additional distance to Micklegate etc to make use of the facilities, or even whether the closures are financially justified.

As an alternative, the proposals blithely refer to "Micklegate" with car parking within 50 yards and a bus stop 350 yards - or you can use a taxi.

On the practical side, our experience is that parking space is rarely available - furthermore, the council's policy is geared towards inhibiting the use of cars in this area. What efforts has the post office made to ensure that parking space is available, either for private cars or taxis to enable this facility to be used?

For pensioners who are unable to walk the additional distance (and there are many of them) the expense of collecting their pensions will, in effect, be a reduction of something between five per cent to ten per cent of their state pension.

It is time the Government stepped in to stop this trend or increased pensions to compensate.

Ron and Colleen Cornish,

Bishopthorpe Road,

York.

Updated: 09:18 Friday, October 08, 2004