Flashback to February: Councillors Glynis Abbott, Joyce Benbow, Chris Abbott and Mary Ovens join Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate Ian Swales at Park Avenue post office, Redcar

CONTINGENCY plans have been drawn up to help people affected by the closure of post offices in their communities.

The plan to close four offices in the Redcar and Cleveland area went ahead on Tuesday despite strong opposition to the controversial proposal.

The decision was met with the massive cost to the public of keeping open branches that aren't being used.

"However, Lazenby has always been a branch that should not even be on the list for closure and I have told the Post Office so."

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar has called on the Government to block the closure of the village post office in Moorsholm while villagers look at ways of keeping it open.

He said: "One key action was for the local community to run a survey to see the scope for increasing trade at the post office, something that would also boost trade for Post Office transactions.

"That survey is now - as I speak - under way and is indeed being conducted by the villagers themselves."

widespread anger and now Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council is drawing up a range of alternative services, with the possibility of utilising its mobile One Stop Shop.

Manish Sahani, who runs the Park Avenue sub-post office in Redcar, said: "What can I say really. It was what we were expecting but I do feel genuinely sorry for our regular customers.

"We only found out when we received a special delivery on Tuesday morning with a notice saying we were closing down."

In February, the Post Office earmarked 37 businesses across the region for closure.

This was followed by a sixweek consultation process and now the first closures are scheduled to take place towards the end of June.

The borough council is planning to help people served by the Post Office at four locations - the village of Charltons, High Street in Moorsholm, High Street, Lazenby and Park Avenue, Redcar.

Council leader Coun George Dunning said: "We believe the decision fails to recognise the valuable roles these offices play in community life. We are committed to exploring ways in which our services can be delivered from these offices and we will be talking directly to the Post Office to investigate ways of reopening services with some degree of financial support from the council."

The council is planning discussions with each of the four offices involved and assessing what help it can offer through its own outreach facilities.

They include the mobile One Stop Shop, which already offers a service to outlying areas on a weekly basis."

Redcar MP Vera Baird said: "As I have said from the start, in particular when I campaigned with Lazenby people, it is inevitable some under-used post offices have to close because of

12:20pm Friday 16th May 2008

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