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Cotherstone Post Office

The village post office in Cotherstone is to remain open, despite six other sub-branches of the post office being closed down across Teesdale. It is one of the few post offices in Teesdale to remain open after proposals were made by the Post Office to close 2,500 branches across the country.

Dorothy Christon and her husband Allen have run the post office in Cotherstone for 24 years. She believes that the post office is extremely important to the village. She said: “It’s really a place for people to meet within the village. Not only do we dispense pensions and let people pay their bills but we act as a bit of a social service as well. If somebody’s poorly we notice it’s not just about dispensing pensions.”

Teesdale has been one of the areas most affected by the decision to close branches of the post office. Mrs Christon believes that the decision is understandable as some of the post offices are used very little. She said: “I think it’s sad but it’s understandable if they are not used by the general public.”

The village of Cotherstone has around 550 residents and is ideally located in Teesdale. It has recently been voted among the top 20 most desirable villages to live in the country. House prices are well above the national average but a decision to close to close the post office could have a detrimental affect on house prices. Mrs Christon said: “Cotherstone is one of the most popular villages in the country to live in. It has two pubs, a shop and a post office. I think that there might be depreciation in the value of houses if there wasn’t a shop.”

As Cotherstone is a village with a strong demographic the Post Office has decided to keep the branch open. If the shop was to be shut down or was put for sale but could not be sold; then there would be other alternatives. Mrs Christon said: “There would always be some sort of post office facility in Cotherstone. It might be in the village hall two days a week or in a pub a couple of sessions a week.”

Mrs Christon believes that the blame to shut down the post offices should lie with the government rather than the Post Office. The government recently made a decision to pull out some of the subsidies that are used to keep the rural network of post offices running. She said: “I think that the Post Office is reacting to a decision made by the government. I think that the Post Office are trying their best to work to the criteria set down by the government.”

The MP for Teesdale Helen Goodman has been campaigning to save some of the post offices that are due to close. Mrs Christon believes that she is being slightly hypocritical as it was her government that put the Post Office into this situation. She said: “I think she’s being a bit hypocritical going out drumming up support when it’s her government who have put the Post Office into this situation.”

Post Office Closures In Teesdale

Dozens of sub-post offices across the North-East and North Yorkshire face closure after controversial new proposals made by the Post Office. The plans are the latest stage of the Post Office’s ‘modernisation’ programme, Network Change.

One of the areas worst affected by these new proposals is the largely rural area of Teesdale in County Durham. Under the new proposals six sub-post offices face closure. The sub-post offices that face closure are: Bolam, Boldron, Hutton Magna, Romaldkirk, Toft Hill and Winston. (see map) If the decision is taken to permanently close these branches, it could happen by June at the earliest.

If these sub- post offices were to close then it would be another damaging blow to the region. In many rural communities the post office is the only amenity available to the people who live there. If they were to close down then many residents, especially the elderly would be forced to travel further a field to carry out their business. A lack of public transport is also a problem for people who need to use post offices elsewhere.

The MP for Teesdale, Helen Goodman, plans to fight the proposals to close the post offices. Already a petition has been launched against the closures and residents have been urged to make their voices heard. She said: “I am very concerned about these closures. Post offices are one of our most cherished community amenities.” Mrs Goodman is also concerned that the proposals will see a reduction in the quality of the service and will leave people more dependant on car use.

Many of the small village shops that contain the sub-post offices will be forced to close as well. This is because they will be unable to support themselves without the post office. The planned post office closures are not the first and won’t be the last to affect the region. In the past 18 months the post office at Ingleton was forced to close and another post office at Bowes remains under threat.

One of the villages worst affected by the proposals is Hutton Magna. Under the guidelines set out by Network Change 95% of the rural population should be within 3 miles of their nearest branch. However, if Hutton Magna was to close the closest branch would be almost 6 miles away in Gainford. This problem is made worse as there is no direct public transport between the two villages.

The Post Office claim that under the new proposals 99% of the area’s population will either see no change, or will remain within one mile of an alternative branch. Plans are already afoot to help the communities that are set to lose their post office. Plans include using mobile libraries or using a third party premise such as pub as a post office.

The proposals are part of the Post Office’s plan to close 2,500 branches out of a current network of 14,000.