HC Deb 05 July 2004 vol 423 cc659-60 10.30 pm
Mr. Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con)

I rise on behalf of many constituents in Romford, especially members of the Roman Catholic parish of the church of St. Edward the Confessor, who are appalled by the recent closure, without notice, of the main post office in Romford town centre. Thousands of local people, especially elderly people who depend on the facilities, used the post office. They were shocked when, at the end of March, it suddenly closed without warning. The people of Romford are deeply concerned that, months later, there is no sign of a new post office.

They are also deeply worried about the potential simultaneous loss of many local sub-post offices. Both issues are the subject of many petitions that have been presented to me. I, in turn, intend to present them to the House. The first is the petition of St. Edward's Catholic church and it contains 145 signatures. The petition states: To the House of Commons, The Petition of the congregation of St. Edward's Roman Catholic Church Declares that Romford's post offices are under threat of closure and that Romford's main post office has already been closed. The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons do all in its power to keep as many of the local post offices open in Romford as possible and to urge Post Office Ltd. to reopen Romford's main post office without delay. And the Petitioners remain, etc. To lie upon the Table.