§ Mr. Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con)I present a petition on behalf of no less than 1,071 of my constituents in the Gidea Park area of Romford. The people of Gidea Park are outraged at the strong possibility that the local Gidea Park post office will be closed. They have asked me to present the petition to the House on their behalf this evening.
The Gidea Park community contains large numbers of elderly people who depend heavily on their local community shops, of which the post office is a focal point. The loss of the Gidea Park post office would not only be a great inconvenience to all local people in that area of Romford, but would have a damaging effect on other local community shops.
I wish to present the petition on behalf of all residents of Gidea Park and the surrounding communities of Heath Park, Marshall's Park and central Romford, all of which are very close to Gidea Park. The petition has been given strong support by members of the congregation of St. Michael's church, Gidea Park, parents from the Gidea Park primary school and the Gidea Park college, and particularly the shopkeepers in Main road, Gidea Park, and Balgores lane. It also has the full support of the local councillors for the Squirrels Heath ward, Councillors Eric Munday, Michael White and Eddie Cahill, and for the Romford Town ward, Councillors Wendy Brice-Thompson, Frederic Thompson and Andrew Curtin.
§ The petition reads as follows:
§ To the House of Commons,
§ The Petition of the People of the Gidea Park area of Romford
§ Declares that the Gidea Park Post Office is threatened with Closure. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons do all in its power to keep the Gidea Park Post Office open.
§ And the petitioners remain, etc.
§ To lie upon the Table