WHICH Fenland post offices are to close under the latest re-organisation will be known for certain by September, MP Malcolm Moss has been told by the managing director of the Post Office, Alan Cook. Mr Cook told Mr Moss, the MP for NE Cambs, that the post

WHICH Fenland post offices are to close under the latest re-organisation will be known for certain by September, MP Malcolm Moss has been told by the managing director of the Post Office, Alan Cook.

Mr Cook told Mr Moss, the MP for NE Cambs, that the post offices earmarked for closure will be announced in July but there will then be an eight week consultation period concluding on August 26.

Mr Cook said the final decisions will be announced in mid September, although those sub postmasters affected could know as early as next month if their future is in doubt.

Post Office teams will "commence work engaging with sub postmasters whose branches may be affected" in April, said Mr Cook. The talks will focus on looking at those post offices which may be replaced by "an outreach service" and those they may be forecast to pick up additional customers as a result of the network changes. The letter to Mr Moss came after he tabled a Commons question.

The news comes as a major working group has been set up to fight post office closures across the county.

Post Office Limited is closing 2,500 branches across the country as it aims to stem the losses of the network, which it puts at nearly £4million each week.

Around 25 branches in the county are believed to be under threat, with some of those in the Fens.

The group, called the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Post Office Network Change Group, also includes business and rural community groups, as well as the other district councils in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough City Council.

Its aim is to ensure any decisions on the closure of post offices in the county take account of areas of deprivation, new road schemes and the needs of local communities.

Sir Peter Brown, county council cabinet member for communities, said: "There are a number of areas within both Cambridgeshire and Peterborough that are deprived and we want to ensure that these areas are protected from the proposed post office closure and have their current level of service maintained."

A delegation from the group, led by Sir Peter, met with Post Office Ltd on Tuesday to present a dossier detailing the needs of communities in Cambridgeshire.