Post office approves 56 Kent closures

8.01.00am GMT Thu 6th Dec 2007

Fifty-six post office branches are to close across Kent with the first ones winding up in the New Year. The announcement by Post Office Ltd follows public consultation under which 58 branches were earmarked for closure.

Two branches, in Ramsgate and Hawkhurst, won a reprieve because of issues including transport and access.

But two more branches were added to the list for closure, with consultation starting on Tuesday. They are Lane End in Dartford and Goodnestone.

A statement from the Post Office said the two were added to meet set criteria, and ensure the network could be supported by available government funding.

It added that improvements would be made to 18 branches in the county, to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, and to provide additional counters, as a result of the six-week consultation.

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter said the consultation was "a farce".

He said the process was "too short, it was further reduced by postal strikes and they then gave themselves just three weeks to review and evaluate the information".

Kent was one of the first areas of the country to see a six-week consultation get under way in October, alongside East Yorks and the East Midlands.

The government has said cuts were needed because the network loses £4m weekly.

Four million fewer people were using post offices each week than two years ago and losses had risen from £2 million a week in 2005 to £4 million a week last year, it added.

The 56 branches now facing closure are:

• Approach Road, 63 Approach Road, Margate

• Bellevue Road, 13 Bellevue Road, Ramsgate

• Benenden Chest Hospital, Cranbrook

• Bidborough, 14 Bidborough Ridge, Tunbridge Wells

• Bingham Road, 185 Frindsbury Road, Rochester

• Brompton, 25 High Street, Brompton, Gillingham

• Byron Road, 34 Byron Road, Gillingham

• Canterbury Road, 14-16 Canterbury Road, Whitstable

• Capel Le Ferne, Capel Le Ferne Village Hall

• Chalkwell, 69 London Road, Sittingbourne

• Dane Road, 55 Upper Dane Road, Margate

• Denton, 4 East Milton Road, Gravesend

• Duke Of York's School, Guston, Dover

• East Street, 85-89 East Street, Sittingbourne

• Enbrook Valley, 99 Enbrook Valley, Eynsford, Folkestone

• Eynsford, The Old Forge Tea Rooms, Riverside, Dartford

• Farningham, 3 High Street, Farningham, Dartford

• Gills Green, Station Garage, Hawkhurst

• Grange Road, 34 Grange Road, Ramsgate

• Great Mongeham, Mongeham Farm, Deal

• Hardy Street, 84-86 Hardy Street, Maidstone

• Hectorage Road, 82 Goldsmid Road, Tonbridge

• High Street, 3 High Street, Herne Bay

• High Street, 13 High Street, Sevenoaks

• Hythe Road, 79 Hythe Road, Ashford

• Langton Green, Langton Road, Tunbridge Wells

• Littlestone, 4 Warren Road, New Romney

• Longfield Hill, Main Road, Longfield Hill, Dartford

• Mead Road, 11 Mead Road, Dartford

• Minnis Road, 137 Minnis Road, Birchington

• New Bridge, 15 Bench Street, Dover

• Northgate, 65 Northgate, Canterbury

• Oaten Hill, 3-4 Oaten Hill, Canterbury

• Rodmersham Green, 1 St Patricks Row, Sittingbourne

• Saltwood, The Fountain Stores, Saltwood, Hythe

• Seabrook Road, 246 Seabrook Road, Hythe

• Seal, 23-25 High Street, Seal, Sevenoaks

• Shipbourne Road, 55 Shipbourne Road, Tonbridge

• Shorncliffe, 2 Royal Military Avenue, Folkestone

• Sole Street, The Little Shoppe, Sole Street, Gravesend

• South Ashford, 108 Beaver Road, Ashford

• South End, 115 High Street, Edenbridge

• South Park, 192 Loose Road, Maidstone

• South Willesborough, 62 Gladstone Road, Ashford

• St Botolphs, 2 Station Parade, Sevenoaks

• St Dunstans, 21-23 Whitstable Road, Canterbury

• St Johns Road, 57 St Johns Road, Tunbridge Wells

• Station Road, 129 Station Road, Gillingham

• Station Road, Station Road, Tonbridge

• Temple Hill, 11 Temple Hill Square, Dartford

• Tower Hamlets, 14 West Street, Dover

• Upper Deal, 311 London Road, Deal

• Westbrook, 101 Canterbury Road, Margate

• Wilmington, 221 High Road, Dartford

• Woodnesborough, The Street, Woodnesborough

• Wrotham Road, 46 Wrotham Road, Gravesend