Plaid Cymru Dwyfor Meirionnydd The Rt Hon. Liz Saville Roberts MP and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS

Community leaders in Gwynedd have accused the Post Office of turning its back on rural communities as the scandal-hit service confirms it is axing mobile outreach services in twenty-one communities across the county.

This mass withdrawal of provision means communities in Efailnewydd, Llanaelhaearn, Bryncir, Llithfaen, Pantglas, Abererch, Minffordd, Borth y Gest, Nasareth, Llanfrothen, Y Fron, Rhosgadfan, Llangybi, Talysarn, Edern, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Chwilog, Gellilydan, Garn, Morfa Bychan, Sarn, Llanfair, and Llanbedr will no longer be served by a Mobile Post Office van.

These cuts are in addition to the closure of Cricieth Post Office and the ongoing threat to the Crown Post Office in Caernarfon.  

Local Plaid Cymru politicians in Westminster and the Senedd have accused the Post Office of going out of their way to make life harder for their loyal customers at a time when their focus should be on restoring trust and public confidence.  

Liz Saville Roberts MP and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) said:

The decision to axe twenty-one of the twenty-five mobile post office services across our constituency is frankly unthinkable. These are twenty-one, mostly rural communities, which will now be deprived from accessing Post Office services close to home. This service is a lifeline to many communities within our constituency, enabling people to access Post Office services without the need to travel great distances. The service is particularly important to the elderly, vulnerable, and those without access to public transport. Given the Post Office has a commitment to ensure 95% of the total population is within 3 miles of a Post Office outlet, and 95% of the population of every postcode is within 6 miles of an outlet, we want to know how they propose to maintain these commitments in light of these cuts. We also seek clarity on whether any meaningful consultation has taken place with those communities affected by these cuts. People in our constituency won’t be fooled by empty platitudes and casual apologies. To quote the Post Office, this is more than a mere ‘inconvenience’, it is the latest in a long line of cuts to frontline, over-the-counter services with scant consideration given to local factors such as access to public transport, digital poverty, or the needs of Welsh-speaking communities. What has become increasingly apparent is that the reputational damage inflicted upon the Post Office following the Horizon scandal is resulting in an accelerated deterioration in access to services for people living in an increasing number of communities.

Siân Gwenllian MS (Arfon) said:

Once again, it has been proven that rural, post-industrial communities in the north of Wales just don’t matter to large national institutions such as the Post Office. Hywel Williams, the former MP for Arfon published a report last year commissioned by the Bevan Foundation, identifying low pay, insecure employment, and a rural cost-of-living premium - stemming from high housing, energy, and travel costs - as major issues in Arfon. This rural poverty, and this general feeling of isolation will be exasperated by the Post Office’s decision. My constituents in Nasareth, y Fron, Rhosgadfan, and Talysarn will be fed up with amenities moving further away from the people they are supposed to serve. What the Post Office are telling these people is: because you don’t live in a population hub, you don’t matter. And that’s shameful.