I think I speak not just for myself but also for many local people in this market town, as I write to you to appeal not to close the Post Office branch in Eastleigh Road, Devizes.

You obviously have no idea how drastically this latest threat to one of our local rural branches will affect the local community.

We have already had to suffer the loss of most, if not all, of our out of Devizes, Vale of Pewsey post office branches, which has badly undermined the village community life.

Not only is the branch post office of essential use to the people of the community, but it also is a centre of vital community communication and a social meeting place.

Many villagers cannot make the trip into town and depend on their local post office cum convenience store.

The Eastleigh Road Post Office may not actually be out of town the town is growing far too fast to cope with the amenities at present on offer. To threaten to close this post office means that a large and growing community on the edge of Devizes loses a vital asset.

Many people cannot physically get themselves the mile into town to Sainsbury's. The Sainsbury's Post

Office is not in "the immediate area", as stated in your information letter.

You may not realise that the closure of other, more outlying village post offices has meant that the only town centre post office in Sainsbury's store, in Monday Market Street, is so congested, that people have to queue for a minimum of ten minutes to be served.

If the post office in Eastleigh Road should close, then the queue at Sainsbury's will be at least 15 minutes by Christmas time, probably half an hour!

Since the closure of the more outlying post offices, I have seen the queue stretch right to the street.

This is not good enough. The inhabitants of Devizes and the Vale of Pewsey should not have to suffer this hardship whilst they try and get on efficiently with their lives and businesses.

I enclose an article from The Guardian, taken from the magazine, The Week, which it seems to me that it is directly quoting the threat to the Eastleigh Post Office and its takeover by Tesco.

The Post Office is there to serve the local communities, not to destroy them.

Do not close this valuable asset to our local community in Devizes.

MRS S J PADWICK

Devizes

Sent to Paul Maisey, Head of Area, Post Office Ltd.