Ludlow Town Council got it wrong: Ludlow Post Office is not going to close, it is going to open longer

An unnecessary scare was started by Ludlow Town Council before Easter and was not corrected for a week. In an emphatic statement on its website, it stated:

“In two months time, Tesco is planning to close the busy post office in their One-Stop shop on Tower Street, Ludlow.  The town centre post office is Ludlow’s main post office and the closure would be a major blow to the local economy and to the services which many people rely on.”

It had not checked the accuracy of this statement and only corrected it a week later to say the post office would not close but expand its hours. The result was that a flurry of emails and messages of concern to myself and, no doubt, to Philip Dunne.

The town council acted irresponsibly and the mayor Glen Ginger should offer a public apology.

Far from closing, One Stop clarified on Friday that the service was expanding:

“We want to reassure customers that the Ludlow Tower Post Office inside the One Stop store is not closing. Working together with the Post Office, the format will change, bringing the Post Office counter closer to the till and making better use of retail space to enhance store operations.

“Our banking, billing, postal and travel services will remain. We have made these changes to ensure we are becoming more efficient due to evolving customer needs. Customers may also be pleased to hear that the opening hours of our Post Offices services will extend significantly – the new hours will be Monday to Sunday 8am until 8pm once the conversion has completed this Spring.”

I don’t like to criticise Ludlow Town Council but it made a serious error of judgement in starting a scare before ascertaining the facts. That the scare was started as offices closed for Easter. There was no opportunity to check the facts with One Stop or post office managers. I asked for the source of the council’s information but did not get a response. But it seems to have been gossip rather than firm information. We have enough problems with memes about the town centre beginning to fail without the town council pitching in.

The campaign got political

Of course, with a general election coming Philip Dunne and the man he wants to anoint as his successor, Stuart Anderson, jumped on the bandwagon. They were more cautious in their approach, Dunne saying he had written to the chief executive of Tesco calling for an urgent meeting. However, they propagated the story and Anderson used it for his political advantage.

In what seems likely to become a staple of Stuart Anderson’s campaign, he launched a survey asking how often people use the post office. He then tagged on a serious of political questions.

What have these to do with the rumoured closure of the post office? Nothing. The same questions are being asked on Anderson’s questionnaire to save the Craven Arms Household Recycling Centre, which was launched almost one month to the day after the campaign to save the centre started and just as the public petition reached 8,500 signatures. The questions area optional but in a survey to save a community resource, they have no place. To submit any of Anderson’s surveys, residents must give the name, address and email, though they can opt out of contact.

These surveys are central to the way the Conservatives’ campaign. They are seeking indications of likely Conservative supporters to add to their VoteAction database so they can be targeted at the general election.

We live in political times but mixing community campaigns with politics leaves a bad taste in my mouth.