IT HAS been some time since the Post Office completed its review; however all is not quiet behind the scenes.

Last December I met with county council members, their officers and local post masters. At the Community Scrutiny Committee which followed, our local county councillor Bob Booker proposed a working group to look into how postal services could be safeguarded. This group has worked with representatives from Rural Cornwall Partnership, the Retail Skills Network, the Cornwall Rural Community Council and the Federation of Small Businesses. Their work was passed onto the Community Committee, who recommended that this work should continue onto the new council. 

I have recently been in contact with Stephen Horscroft at Cornwall Council so that we can set up another meeting with our local post masters and our MP Dan Rogerson, similar to the meeting we had in Bodmin last year which started the ball rolling. There is hope that the post office issue can be linked to the planning and regeneration work which is already looking at the functioning of small settlements and a brief for this, I have been assured by Mr Horscroft is imminent.

It was said at the time that fighting the post office was a waste of time as some believed the decision was already made. Fortunately, some of us and our county councillor Bob Booker didn't take that approach. The campaign which we fought to save our post offices and which succeeded in improving the outreach service which was on offer to Week St Mary and Whitstone isn't over.

There is a great deal of support from relevant organisations to ensure that this work progresses. The post office intend to review post office provision again in 2011, we have to ensure that this can improve service provision, not cut it further.

Chairman of the Whitstone Post Office Action Group,

Whitstone.