A six-week consultation exercise started this week into the proposed closure of branches in Front Street and Wilton Drive.

The public consultation will ensure that these branches are appropriate for closure.

A statement from Post Office Limited stated: "The programme is not designed to provide a forum for debate on whether branches should close, but is about ensuring that Post Office Limited has the best available knowledge to allow it to make the most informed decisions about which branches should close."

The owners of the branch in Wilton Drive refused to comment, but Bill Walli, who owns the Post Office in Front Street, expressed his surprise at the proposal to close the branch because of its popularity with local people.

"I was quite surprised because this is a busy post office," he said.

"Nobody likes the idea of closure, and people are upset about it, especially older and disabled residents who haven't got their own transport."

He urged local residents to get involved with the consultation through various means such as creating a petition, or contacting the local MP and councillors.

The Area Plan proposes that Post Office provision be delivered through a network of 364 branches across the north east, including 24 outreach services, but 57 existing branches would close.

But the Post Office has stated that despite the closures, 99.5 per cent of the area's population would either see no change in service, or would remain within one mile of an alternative branch.

Post Office Ltd's Network Development Manager for the North East, Adrian Wales, said: "Taking the decision to close any Post Office branch is always very difficult and we know it will cause concern to many of our customers.

"We want to ensure that everyone who uses, relies on, or has any concern with Post Office services is both fully aware of the proposed changes and able to give views on them.

"We believe these proposals offer the best prospect for a sustainable way forward for Post Office services in this area."

Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell MP urged concerned residents living near the branches to get involved in the consultation exercises over the next six weeks.

"We know what the background is," he said.

"There are four million fewer post office customers than four years ago, and the network is losing £3.5m every week.

"Some closures are necessary to ensure a viable, sustainable network survives, and that's something which all the political parties acknowledge and something which the National Federation of SubPostmasters reluctantly accept.

"The government recognises, however, that post offices are a valued part of local communities, and that's why we are investing £150m a year into the network.

"The fact is that without that investment, instead of two out of every 14 local post offices closing, in my view we would be facing many more closures."

Meanwhile, the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Tynemouth, Wendy Morton, described the consultation as a sham.

She said: "I totally disagree with the way this consultation has been carried out.

"The Post Office has already decided that 2,500 branches will shut nationally and there is little, if any, room for negotiation.

"This is a sham consultation and the closures will affect hundreds of communities up and down the country.

"The Government seems happy to sit back while the post office service disintegrates."

She also urged local residents to air their views about the proposed closures so she can lobby the Government on their behalf, and
added: "We need to think imaginatively about how we maintain good local services – the Government just seems to have given up."