Nigel Evans, Member of Parliament for the Ribble Valley and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, officially reopened Longridge Post Office on Friday morning. Longridge Post Office has been modernised and is reopening as a main branch as part of the Post Office’s three year modernisation programme, Network Transformation.
After cutting the ribbon, Mr Evans said:
“I am absolutely delighted to be here, reopening Longridge Post Office. It is vitally important in areas like ours that people have access to a network of post offices. The government has said that in return for £1.34 billion of funding over the spending review period, Post Office Ltd must maintain a network of at least 11,500 branches and adhere to the access criteria which require 99% of the population to live within 3 miles of a post office.
“Rural post office numbers have fallen over the years and there are, of course, many reasons for this including better internet access in people’s homes. However, the countryside has a significant elderly population for whom it is imperative that we maintain a strong post office presence.
“Longridge is a hub for the surrounding areas and villages and it really is good news that its Post Office has reopened for business.”