88. Captain MARTINasked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the great increase of all branches of Post Office work at Southend-on-Sea consequent on the growth of that town; that the present General Post Office and telephone exchange are totally inadequate for the amount of work that has to be done, especially during the summer season; that the telephone exchange, with over 1,000 subscribers, is situated in a private house, 1681 and the operators are confined to a room of about 27 feet by 12 feet, which is very unhealthy; and whether he will consider the advisability of erecting a more suitable building that would house all branches of Post Office work?
§ The POSTMASTER - GENERAL (Sir William Joynson-Hicks)The defects in the accommodation for all branches of postal work at Southend-on-Sea are fully recognised, and the question of providing more suitable accommodation is under consideration. The present financial situation, however, and the difficulty of securing a suitable site, render it impracticable at the moment to proceed with a comprehensive solution of the problem. As the need for increased telephone accommodation has developed into a matter of great urgency, it has recently been decided to provide forthwith a new building to accommodate an up-to-date automatic telephone exchange, and the provision of the building and the equipment will be pressed forward without delay. I fear that some time must necessarily elapse before new premises for the postal work can be provided, but everything is being done to improve the present conditions as far as possible.