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Concerns have been raised over plans to close a Royal Mail sorting office in a Nottinghamshire town and its “potential knock-on effect” on the community.
Councillors on Mansfield District Council have raised their fears after Royal Mail revealed plans to close the sorting office in Warsop.
The sorting office, which is connected to the Post Office on High Street, serves all residents in the Parish and collects missed parcels for collection or redelivery.
However, Warsop Parish Council said it has been informed by a local postmaster that the company plans to close the sorting office section from as early as March 2021.
This, councillors and residents claim, has been done despite “no consultation” with the public or councils about its potential impacts.
It has led to concerns over the future of the Post Office itself, while concerns have also been raised over mobility – with services likely to be transferred four miles away to Old Mill Lane, Mansfield Woodhouse.
Debra Barlow sits as an independent councillor for Market Warsop and is also chair of the parish council.
She told Nottinghamshire Live: “Royal Mail haven’t actually consulted anybody on this – as far as we know there certainly hasn’t been a public consultation.
“They have come down and done this off their own backs, with no explanation and we haven’t even been advised about it.
“The concern is that, once the sorting office is gone, other things will start to tip off the cliff.
“The impact on locals and residents will be huge, because if you miss your parcel it’s going to Mansfield Woodhouse.
“At the sorting office, it’s always packed jam, there’s four parking spaces, no bus route and I wouldn’t even advise pedestrians getting up there due to HGVs.
“What Royal Mail need to do is look at the services they’ve already got and update them – rather than closing Warsop.
“They need to reconsider this, to just close it without consultation is an insult to Warsop.”
Councillors on Mansfield District Council unanimously passed a motion last week calling for the plans to be reviewed, with mayor Andy Abrahams set to write to the Royal Mail chairman.
The motion, read out by Warsop Carrs’ Councillor Andy Burgin, said: “The Postmaster at Warsop Post Office has recently informed the Parish Council that Royal Mail will be closing the sorting office in Warsop and relocating the service to the Mansfield Woodhouse or Mansfield sorting office from as soon as March 2021.
“This decision has been made with no consultation with the people of Warsop parish, Mansfield District Council or Warsop Parish Council and will have a significant negative impact on anybody who misses the delivery of parcels or signed-for correspondence.”
During the full council meeting, councillors raised concerns about mobility for elderly residents travelling to the Old Mill Lane site, and the loss of “viability” for the Warsop Post Office without the sorting office facility.
Mansfield Mayor Andy Abrahams added: “It’s more than just a Post Office, it’s a far wider issue around the green agenda, travel time, more cars on the road, people and community.
“It’s the centre of where people go, they will meet the same people every week and from what we’ve learnt through Covid, it’s important to keep communities together.
“There are so many reasons why we should try our very best to keep this post office open.”
Royal Mail have been approached for a comment.
