MONMOUTHSHIRE MP Huw Edwards has accused the Post Office Ltd of failing to carry out a full public consultation over the closure of an Abergavenny post office.
The Post Office announced it was planning to close Stanhope Street post office in October, 2003.
It also announced a period of public consultation until December 16 but on December 30 the decision was taken to close Stanhope Street branch and owner David James closed its doors on February 4.
But now Mr Edwards has written to the Post Office asking it to explain its public consultation procedures.
He said: "Questions remain unanswered about the format of the public consultation undertaken by the Post Office following the decision to close the Stanhope Street office."
Mr Edwards was speaking after meeting Paul Maisey, acting head of area at the Royal Mail Group.
He said: "Local residents have been in contact with me since November to express their concerns about the effect on elderly residents and the lack of public consultation with the local community.
"I have voiced my concern about the lack of public consultation directly to Mr Maisey at a meeting in Westminster and have written to the Post Office."
Mr Edwards has asked Mr Maisey to explain what consultation there had been with the local community, under what conditions the decisions could be reversed, who made the final decision to close the post office and what evidence is required to support an appeal against the closure decision.
A spokeswoman for Post Office Ltd said: "The public consultation period is an opportunity for residents, customers and other interested parties, to reveal any flaws in Post Office Ltd's reasoning or to bring to the attention of the consultation team a compelling reason why the post office branch should remain open, which had been overlooked in the original research.
"In response to the feedback we have received, we have already made changes to this process to make sure that all the proposed changes in a particular area are made public at the same time.
"We have now agreed further enhancements to the way in which we communicate with and involve MPs, AMs, local authorities and Postwatch."
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