Over 100 people turned out on the last Saturday of the Post Office Consultation to show how strongly Mid Norfolk feels about the damage to rural communities caused by the Post Office closure programme.
The event was well covered in Monday's EDP (click here) and received good coverage in the morning hourly bulletins on BBC Radio Norfolk, so the voice of opposition in Mid Norfolk was heard loud and clear.
For more details on the campaign please visit www.postoffices.georgefreeman.co.uk
Photo: George Freeman and campaigners outside Beeston Post Office.
3,000 houses will be built, 750 of which will be affordable; they plan a business park, primary school, sixth-form college, nursery, medical centre and three local centres providing shops and other facilities. Plans have been submitted for land which is outside the current development boundary and which pre-empt the 'core strategy for future housing development' by the Greater Norwich Development Partnership which will identify suitable land for future housing needs. Should the plans be allowed to go ahead? To find out more and be part of the consultation process click on the following link www.southwymondham.info
Please also let ME know what you think. Click here to send me an e-mail
Residents and campaigners were out in force in Beeston on Saturday, gathering signatures for the Save Mid Norfolk Post Office campaign.
Local Cllr Elizabeth Gould, who lives on Dereham Rd, and George Freeman, who is co-ordinating the Save Mid Norfolk Post Offices campaign, spent Saturday morning meeting residents and shoppers in the Post Office, collecting signatures and inspecting the proposed route to the alternative post office at Litcham.
"The Post Office's proposal that residents without a car can access the nearest alternative post offices at Litcham (2.2miles) or Mileham (2.7miles) on foot is madness, and likely to lead to serious road traffic incidents", said George Freeman.
"Anyone who has tried to walk these routes knows the road is a busy single lane designated for lorries, with a steep hill and high banks and no pavement for most of the way."
The attached photograph shows a pensioner being forced off the road by lorries whilst trying to walk part of the route.
"The route has been recognised by the County Council as too dangerous for school children to walk or cycle, so why can the Post Office get away with telling pensioners without cars to walk it?" said Cllr Gould.
Local resident Di Walthew, who has been helping with collecting signatures for the Beeston petition, said:
"Don't they realise that in rural areas like this many people, especially the elderly and people on lower incomes, don't have access to vehicles and depend on their local Post Office?"
Beeston, which is typical of many of the Mid Norfolk threatened with closure, has a number of reasons to be worried about the closure:
- Over 14 families have no transport of their own and rely on the PO to collect benefits, use banking and other services.
- An estimated 30% of Beeston residents do not have access to a computer so cannot access the Post Offices alternative online services.
- Due to lack any public transport between Beeston and Litcham, prescriptions are collected from, and delivered to, the Post Office by the local health centre.
- Extensive research by the Institute of Advanced Motoring Trust (2007) found that official records of fatal and serious accidents show rural roads are the most dangerous.
"The hidden knock-on effects of these closures will be huge" said Mr Freeman, "Village life, and especially the elderly, vulnerable and children will suffer. Car use will increase. Villages will become dormitories of people cut off from each other. We must have an alternative way."
"If the Post Office 'consultation' is genuine and the Post Office is listening to local views, Beeston Post Office must not be closed" he said.
Photo: Pensioner walking to Post Office forced off the road.
Photo: Steve Norris addresses the Mid Norfolk Enterprise Forum.
George launches a new Save Mid Norfolk Post Offices campaign, with an online petition and signature campaign with local councillors and residents.
As featured in the EDP, George has launched a new Save Mid Norfolk Post Offices campaign, with an online petition and signature campaign with local councillors and residents.
"If you agree that Post Offices are the life blood of our rural communities then please take 1 minute to join in and have your say by supporting our campaign. YOUR VOTE WILL COUNT! Click the link below to add your name to the huge number of people signing up to tell the Government and Post Office what we think of their closures....
"Rural post offices are more than just places to buy stamps. The PO is a crucial facility in a rural community. Many, especially the elderly, immobile and vulnerable, depend on the service that it provides. Experience elsewhere has shown that the closure of a PO can have devastating consequences for a village. Less money is spent locally, further undermining the rural economy. Car use increases. Those without transport suffer. Village vitality falls. The loss of a village PO is often the final blow to struggling hard pressed rural communities.
George and a team of campaigners held street stalls in Dereham, Watton, Wymondham and Attleborough. Over 3000 people took away petition cards to post in to call for a referendum, and several hundred more signed a local petition.
The campaign was organised by George, who will stand as the prospective MP for the new Mid Norfolk constituency at the next election: "People in Norfolk want a say on whether their sovereignty should be given over to Europe. 30 years ago people voted for a Common Market, not a Political Union."
Local resident Charles Holloway said: "Politicians should not be allowed to give away powers that belong to us, the people, without asking us. Norfolk doesn't want or need more powers in Europe. We want more voice for Norfolk."
The campaigners were joined by East Anglia MEP Geoffrey Van Orden: "Gordon Brown promised a referendum in Labour's manifesto. The Reform Treaty is the same Constitution that was rejected in 2005, which will massively shift more power to Brussels."
Photo: George launches Mid Norfolk petition for a referendum on the European Treaty
George is highly critical of the Government's decision to press ahead with the closure of some 2,500 post offices, following the recent consultation exercise.
"Given the weight of public opinion that the post office network is a vital community amenity, particularly in rural areas, it is outrageous that the Government is pressing ahead with the programme of closures.
"I have particular sympathy with rural subpostmasters who, despite a highly effective campaign and a detailed consultation exercise, still do not know where the axe will fall. Working with local councillors and MPs, we have raised our concerns in the House of Commons telling the Government that subpostmasters in Norfolk were finding it extremely hard to do business in the current climate of uncertainty. The recent statement will serve only to make matters worse for those who have invested huge amounts of time and effort serving the community.
"It seems that the Government's policy of deciding closures on so-called access criteria means that even successful Post Offices may close just because of their geography. Successful sub-Post Masters who have spent years building up their business will now be forced to close by this Government."
The Government promised to listen. Instead, it has failed to give sub-postmasters the freedom they need to expand their business, and failed to give elderly and disadvantaged people in rural communities the security of knowing that their post office will remain open. It is an insult to rural areas like Mid Norfolk and shows the Government's ignorance and neglect of rural communities.
Photo: Fighting Post Office Closures
- to highlight the importance of local identity to our rural communities, promote local excellence - be it community project, business, or local produce and give some publicity to the little and local things that often get overlooked (the organic pork I bought at Ash Farm Organics was spectacular - we cooked it for guests on Sunday lunch!)
- to gather signatures for a petition against the Government's Stealth Cuts to the rural Post Office network
- to promote the EDP's excellent Shop Here! Campaign and visiting participating stores along the route
- to introduce and explain the new constituency boundary so people know which constituency they are in
- to promote and gather ideas for my campaign THE NORFOLK WAY promoting a radically different approach to sustainable economic development in Norfolk
- to meet and listen to local people - outside of an election atmosphere- and find out what they think and want to see
Nearly everyone I spoke to made the two same points:
1. Why do we have to develop Norfolk to a Whitehall blueprint of superstores, mass commuting, house dumping in large estates with our heritage trampled on ?
2. Refreshing to see politician out and about between elections on a bike !
I think the highlight for me was the visit to Barnham Broom school to inspect the fire damage after the recent arson attack. The way the school and local community has rallied following the chaos and destruction of one act of spiteful vandalism is truly inspiring. The local hotel offering the staff free spa membership. The local builders getting the repair work super fast to reduce the disruption on the youngsters. The show of support from community and Governors and Emergency Services on the re-opening / first day of term. There was a real sense of all that is best in Norfolk - local community and a sense of real belonging and commitment to decent values - in an act of defiance of thuggery. And a sense of defiance of the 'Health and Safety' obstacles to getting the job done. The community just got the job done because it mattered. We can do it!
During the day I visited:
- Barnham Broom School
- 5 Post Offices
- Mattishall Enterprise Centre and Affordable Housing Scheme
- Bawdeswell Butchers and Garden Centre
- Ash Farm Organics - prize winning local organic pork and beef
- Guist traffic black spot where community and councillor pressure is about to deliver a new 30mph limit.
....which highlighted all the main issues my campaign the Norfolk Way is about: the rural economy, rural services, sustainable housing and planning, the need for better road and rail links, the potential of local enterprises to help sustain traditional villages, the role of local food and organics in restoring a more prosperous rural economy.....
This Saturday 2nd February George Freeman (Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the new Mid Norfolk constituency) will undertake the second leg of his bicycle tour around the boundary of the new constituency to promote and visit participating businesses in the EDP's "Shop Here" campaign.
"The EDP's Shop Here campaign is an excellent initiative that deserves wide support. All of us who care about Norfolk's local community, services and identity have to fight to protect them. Since being selected I have launched my campaign 'The Norfolk Way' to promote a more sustainable approach to local economic development that puts the needs of Norfolk first.
This tour is my way of getting off the beaten track to discover the villages, businesses, community groups and projects that are often overlooked.. I believe MP's have a duty to speak up for all constituents and promote their area. So I am doing my best to get out and listen to, and learn from, the grassroots of the new constituency."
The first leg of George's bike ride in September around the new constituency boundary took him from Attleborough to Barnham Broom. This second leg will continue from Barnham Broom taking him north through villages in mid Norfolk to end in Guist. George will be visiting community enterprises, shops and businesses along the way as detailed in the itinerary below:
Saturday 2nd February 2008
9.15 - 10.00 | Barnham Broom | Visiting the Post Office, a member of 'Shop Here' and the Primary School recently damaged in an arson attack |
10.15 - 11.15 | Mattishall | Touring new Affordable Housing Scheme and Community Room Project |
11.30 - 11.45 | Hockering | Visit Hockering Post Office, Shop and Garage |
12.15 - 2.30 | Bawdeswell | Visit The Butchers Shop (member of 'Shop Here'). Lunch at Bawdeswell Garden Centre with Parish and District Councillors and residents. |
3.00 | Guist | With local residents to support the Post Office |
We need more Bobbies taking responsibility for their beat and less bureaucracy.
