WEST Devon Borough Council has stepped up its campaign to secure the long-term future of its Post Offices. Councillors are demanding that South West Water and the BBC reconsider their decisions to withdraw the facility for people to pay their accounts at Post Offices. The call was led by Cllr Dick Eberlie, who at a recent meeting said: ?There are six thousand sub post offices in the country. Only two thousand make a profit. But they all provide a social and commercial network as the hubs of economic and community life in their villages. ?Every time the Government or any other public service takes away business from them, they are weakened and their profits go down and the opportunity to serve their communities is reduced. As a council I hope we can do more in the fight to preserve them.? Cllr Eberlie said that six years ago, the authority committed itself to supporting sub-post offices and promoting the rural economy of West Devon. The council has actively done so, he said. Last month the council discussed plans by the Government to close the Post Office Card Account scheme. Cllr Eberlie said that since then, South West Water has joined the BBC and BT in withdrawing the facilities for customers to pay accounts through post offices. ?I simply ask the council to lend its weight to those protesting to the BBC and South West Water and urge them to reconsider what they have done. That is one necessary step in our campaign to help preserve the vitality and strength of the villages of West Devon.? Cllr Jane Waterhouse said: ?We have to keep up this campaign relentlessly and I would ask all councillors to call on their residents to lobby and use influence wherever and whenever they can to halt this dreadful erosion of local services.? Cllr John Darch added: ?The Post Offices need all the support they can get. If a Post Office goes under, very often the local shop will go too. ?We have to do everything we can to support them.? The council unanimously agreed to write to the BBC and South West Water.
