SOUTH Lakes MP Tim Farron has this afternoon held a meeting in Kendal with national Post Office bosses about plans to close the town's crown post office and move it into the much smaller WHSmith store.

He secured the meeting so he could put across widespread local opposition to the plans and presented a petition signed by around 4,000 people calling for the proposed move to be scrapped.

Mr Farron took the senior managers round both the post office and the WHSmith store to show them how unworkable the plans are.

Post Office Ltd. will be holding a customer forum to hear people’s views on the proposed changes at Kendal Town Hall on Tuesday 12th February from 3.30pm – 7pm.

Mr Farron said: “With local bank branches closing on a regular basis, our main post office in Kendal is more important than ever.

“I’m really grateful to both Richard Hall and Mick Renshaw for travelling up to Kendal today to discuss their plans for the future of our post office.

“Sadly, their floor plan of what the post office would look like in the WHSmith store did not ease my fears about access and room for people with push chair and mobility scooters.

“They did acknowledge that it would be a huge downsizing and it was clear that they were listening to our concerns.

“So, I’d massively encourage anyone who can to attend their drop-in session to make your voice heard or, if you haven’t already, respond to their online consultation.”