Fight to keep PO continues

The petition was collated by the McCobb family, who own the DayToday convenience store nextdoor to the Post Office, and the McCobbs are spearheading a campaign to keep the Post Office open.

According to Sandra McCobb the response to the petition has been "crazy".

"Everyone who comes into the shop has been looking to sign it and others have come in to the shop specifically asking to sign it. It has been crazy," she said.

"We have had a wide range of people signing their names, and not just the people in Irish Street. We have had interest from people in Bonds Street, Shepherds Glen, Woodburn, Tullyally and Ardmore. I actually had a couple of folk from Gobnascale too, so it is not just the residents of Irish Street that want the Post Office to stay open. This is effecting everybody."

Mrs McCobb said the idea to start a petition had been hers, and she had been assisted by her daughter Stephanie and one gentleman had helped them going door-to-door gathering signatures.

Earlier this week she said the petition had passed 1,100 names, and she added: "People have been very generous in their response. I hope Royal Mail will change their mind, but at the end of the day the decision is theirs as to whether the Post Office stays open or not.

"The Post Office in Irish Street seems to be a real collection point for people, particularly early in the morning and on a Monday, and is a meeting point for older people," she said.

Meanwhile, Alderman Mary Hamilton, who has been working closely with Mrs McCobb said: "I just feel for the residents. Some of them have told me that the Post Office is the centre point of their lives as it is where they all meet and congregate. They are concerned about a lot of things, not least having to cross the busy main road to get to the supermarket.

"They also feel they will be losing the personal touch that they enjoy in Irish Street PO if it closes, and are concerned about having a lack of privacy which they say is one of the drawbacks of placing a Post Office in the larger supermarkets. Everyone is deeply concerned about the effect all this will have on the two shops in Irish Street. They believe they are going to be greatly affected and I am calling on Royal Mail to rethink their strategy of closures. Small Post Offices are a lifeline in communities and offer customers a personalised, private service with attention to detail that you just don't get in larger outlets."

DUP alderman William Hay is also campaigning against the closure and has warned that it will impact adversely on the local area.