THE fight to save Passfield Post Office gathered strength on Saturday as hundreds of residents turned out to support the cause. At a public meeting held at the Passfield Club, more than 350 concerned residents gathered together while camera crews from BBC South Today and ITN filmed the action. The decision to close Passfield Post Office has outraged residents, who will struggle to get to neighbouring post offices in Lindford and Liphook. Concerns were raised that the route to Lindford can be very dangerous for pedestrians as there is no footpath for the majority of the way, and the road is very busy. Access to the Liphook branch is similarly troublesome, with an irregular and long bus service. Public transport offered little comfort to those post office users without cars. Resident Dawn Hoskins said: "We cannot, in this hamlet, rely on public transport. This discussion should not be based on a non-existent service." Also high on the agenda, were concerns about environmental issues, and the increased carbon footprint that the potential closure could bring. Dedicated post office campaigner Kevin Moger, said: "We conducted a two-day survey in the summer and that showed that the closure of the post office would result in 88 per cent of regular users getting in their car to access other post offices. That would mean an extra 600 car journeys would be made every week." Also at the meeting were local business representatives, who would also feel the pinch of the closure of their local post office. Jeremy Turner, a local business man said: "The truth of it is, that we choose to use Passfield, even though it is not the closest post office to our office. The knowledge of the staff there is fantastic, and the speed of service is much better. "You can get anything you need from just Sue or John alone, and that's something that would be a great shame to waste." Postmaster John Wood said after the meeting: "We're absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of support we have received. So much hard work has already gone in to the campaign, and we owe a lot to a lot of people. We're definitely feeling more positive in the light of the community support we've received" Despite an invitation, no representative from the Post Office Ltd attended the meeting, resulting in calls that the public consultation period is being conducted as a mere formality. Mr Moger said: "We came out feeling that we had said what we needed to, but without a full response from the Post Office LTD, it would appear that the public consultation period is a sham." County councillor Adam Carew said: "I know what its like to lose your post office. After a fierce battle and sham consultation we lost our post office in Whitehill two years ago. "As a result the people of Whitehill and Hollywater have to queue at Bordon, or go to Passfield. You have our full support." Following Saturday's meeting, Mr Moger and chairman of the Keep Passfield Post Office Open Campaign, (KPPOOC) Richard Hardman, travelled to London to meet directly with Tim Nickolls, the network development manager for Post Office LTD. Kevin told The Herald that despite their best efforts, Mr Nickolls revealed very few answers. He said: "Either he could not or would not give us the information which is probably in the public domain. When we asked what the requirements were to keep Passfield open, we were told that in order to reprieve Passfield another post office would close. "However, if Passfield is a profitable business with a growing turnover – surely, it should stand on its own merit. We just can't understand how they can justify closing this branch." If any readers would like to help keep Passfield open, they can write a letter detailing their concerns to Tim Nickolls, Post Office Ltd, C/O national Consultation Team, Freepost. Members of the Keep Passfield Post Office Open Campaign are encouraging all those intending to write, to drop it of at the Passfield branch, to check that all letters sent are being considered in the consultation. The consultation period ends on November 26.
