Lib Dem Candidate first to send post from Byers Green mobile Post Office (Bishop Auckland Liberal Democrats)

Bishop Auckland Liberal Democrats <mark@bishoplibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dem Candidate first to send post from Byers Green mobile Post Office

January 9, 2010 12:38 PM

Mark Wilkes & Kevin Thompson with local residents at Byers Green Mobile Post Office

Bishop Auckland Parliamentary Candidate Mark Wilkes and Durham County Councillor Kevin Thompson attended the trial run of the new mobile post office service which has been set up in Byers Green. The village post office was closed last August after the retirement of the local postmistress. Local residents Jacky Evans and Mrs Bennett (middle of picture) visited the mobile facility to check out the facilities.

Since the closure last year Councillor Kevin Thompson, who was born in the village, has been in talks with the Post Office to try and bring a service back.. He commented "The loss last year was a devastating blow to the residents. I hope that this first step will go someway to addressing residents concerns. Ultimately we would like to see a more permanent service and I am working with the post office to try and secure this."

Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate Mark Wilkes was one of the first to use the service sending a recorded delivery letter and buying some stamps. He commented "I must applaud Kevin (Councillor Thompson) for the hard work he has put in with post office managers to secure this facility. I am working with him to find ways of building on this.

Mr Wilkes, also a County Councillor on Durham's Unitary Authority added "I would ask all residents who can manage to get to the mobile post office to go along and use the service. It is vital if we are to retain and improve this service. I would particularly like everyone to know that there is a free to use cash machine facility as well as being able to pay bills - even to get your car tax paid - just take along your paperwork and they will then post out the tax disc to you the next day."

Parliamentary Candidate Mark Wilkes sending first letter from Byers Green Mobile Post Office

Mark has attacked both the government record on post office closures, as well as the record of Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman, who voted for the post office closure bill in parliament last year. Ms Goodman said she had written to the post office complaining that the new service was not good enough but Mr Wilkes questioned this stating that a post office spokesperson had said that at the time of her press release no correspondence had been received at all from the local MP.

Mark added "An MP should be standing up for local residents and working hard to improve local services. This is a small step in the right direction and I hope it will be followed by much more. Our rural communities are part of what makes County Durham the wonderful place it is and we must do all we can to ensure their vitality. This, I will continue to do as parliamentary candidate for Bishop Auckland."