William Wragg MP
Stockport Express Column – 24.08.16
Are rural communities being behind in services?
Last week I launched a campaign against the potential closure of two local Royal Mail delivery offices in Marple and Bredbury as Royal Mail intend to centralise their operation at Green Lane in Stockport. Although the plans are at this stage provisional I have decided to oppose the measure on behalf of my constituents.
Both the Bredbury and Marple sorting offices provide a very useful service to Royal Mail customers, which includes all of us, who need from time to time to collect items of mail and parcels. They are conveniently located and well-served by public transport, in contrast to the Green Lane site. I shall be meeting with Royal Mail this week to discuss the situation and shall update readers of the outcome on these pages in due course.
However this just the latest example in a long line of instances where organisation, including both private companies and the public sector, to reduce services in rural and small-urban communities in favour of centralising services in larger population centres, at the risk of leaving smaller communities behind.
Earlier this year Lloyds Bank closed its branch in Woodley Precinct despite protests from local residents, and more rural areas are still often made to lag behind in technology infrastructure such as mobile phone data coverage and superfast broadband. On broadband some promises have been made thanks to the Government’s new Universal Service Obligation, but progress is still slow with roll-out taking up to 2020 and some internet providers dragging their feet over the issue.
There have however been some successes at keeping services local. I campaigned successfully with neighbouring MPs to prevent the planned closure of Stockport Magistrates court, and I was delighted that, following a large local petition, Stepping Hill Hospital was awarded specialist status in a re-organisation of Greater Manchester NHS hospitals meaning emergency care and cancer services are to be retained closer to communities in the Hazel Grove constituency area.
These campaign successes show that when local people speak out we are sometimes listened to, but I am still concerned by the overall trend of increasing centralisation of services on urban centres. Some people choose to live in towns and villages instead of Major cities, (and with parts of the country as beautiful as those in an around the Stockport area who can blame them), but that does not mean we should become second-class-citizens in terms of a wide range of public and business services. Providers of these services both private and the state sector should pause to remember this.
If you wish to support my “Save Our Delivery Offices” campaign please sign my petition. Copies are available in over 50 high-street shops in both Marple and Bredbury (look out for posters) and also on my website www.williamwragg.org and on my William Wragg MP Facebook page.