STRONG opposition to the proposed closure of a branch post office emerged from a meeting which more than 140 local residents attended this week. The post office in Station Road North, Harpenden, is earmarked for closure along with a further five in the

STRONG opposition to the proposed closure of a branch post office emerged from a meeting which more than 140 local residents attended this week.

The post office in Station Road North, Harpenden, is earmarked for closure along with a further five in the district as part of a nationwide programme of cutbacks.

Local campaigners and councillors met at the Batford Methodist Church in Lower Luton Road on Wednesday to gage public reaction to the proposal.

St Albans District Councillor Chris Brazier, who chaired the meeting, said: "The general feeling was that we want to keep it as part of the community and we don't think the Post Office is listening to people."

He said the nearest alternative post office in Harpenden town centre, which was just over a mile away, was already very busy and too far for elderly people and parents with young children to walk to.

But he warned that saving one post office would put another one somewhere else under threat.

A petition to save the Batford post office had already been drawn up by local Liberal Democrats and Harpenden Town Council will be dedicating a section on their website to the campaign.

Cllr Melvyn Teare, the district council's portfolio holder for culture and heritage, will be preparing the response to the consultation.

The other post offices under threat of closure are those in Waverley Road, Prospect Road and Bernard's Heath in St Albans, Park Street, and Station Road in Smallford.