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Residents criticise Post Office closure plans

Amanda White / BBC A man sitting on a mobility scooter and a woman standing up pose close together for a photograph. The man wears a grey deer-stalker hat and a blue hooded top and has a white beard. The woman has brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and wears a navy zip-up jacket.Amanda White / BBC
Rose and Ian Brannigan said they would struggle to bank without their local Post Office branch

Residents and businesses on both sides of the Humber have criticised a review which could lead to the closures of Post Office branches.

The Post Offices in Grimsby and Bransholme in Hull are two of 115 branches being considered for closure.

In Bransholme, shopper Sarah Swain said she "strongly disagreed" with the plans, and said "everyone relies on it on the Bransholme estate".

The Post Office is looking at options for its wholly-owned branches, which currently employ about 1,000 workers and are loss-making.

These could include alternative franchise arrangements where a retailer such as WHSmith or another third party could take on the branches.

Chairman Nigel Railton told sub-postmasters on Wednesday the Post Office "urgently" needed "a fresh start", with a "new deal" putting them at the "heart of this business".

Amanda White/BBC A woman with dark brown hair pulled back with a hair band, wearing a pink zip up coat. She is standing outside Bransholme Post Office and there is a cash machine and mobility scooter in the background.Amanda White/BBC
Sarah Swain described the move to close Bransholme Post Office as "ridiculous"

Ian Brannigan is disabled and accesses local shops using a mobility scooter which he cannot take on to buses.

He said the proposed closure of the Bransholme branch was "stupid", and said it was especially needed for pensioners, who "can't get anywhere".

Mr Brannigan's wife Rose added: "We rely on it for a lot of things - paying bills and putting money in the bank - we can’t afford to be going into town all the time.”

Krystyna Clarke said closing the branch would be "awful" as people in Bransholme "can't rely on banks".

There is only one bank on the North Hull estate - a Halifax. A large proportion of Hull's banks are only based in the city centre.

Mrs Clarke also said people who need the Post Office to buy gas and electricity would struggle to make those purchases anywhere else nearby.

The next nearest Post Offices are Sutton, 1.4 miles (2.3km) away, and Kingswood, 1.8 miles (2.9km) away.

Google The Post Office in Grimsby. It is painted white and is a corner building. There is a cash machine to the front of the building.Google
Grimsby Post Office is one of four affected branches in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Andrea Tomlinson runs a sewing business called Friary Stitch in Grimsby town centre.

She said if the Post Office in Freshney Place was to close "it would make my business impossible to run".

The business banks with Barclays, which recently closed its Grimsby branch.

Ms Tomlinson added: "They’ve pushed us towards banking completely with the Post Office. If we lose the main Post Office, we have nowhere to bank.”

Post offices in Bridlington in East Yorkshire and Stamford in Lincolnshire are also among those at risk of closure.

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