Local MSP Jackie Baillie has accused the Royal Mail of putting profit before local communities amid concerns over its plans to close Dumbarton Delivery Office.

The Labour MSP met with Royal Mail this week to discuss controversial proposals to transfer the operations of its office in Dumbarton town centre to an industrial estate in Alexandria.

Jackie expressed her opposition to the plans due to the impact on staff and customers in Dumbarton. Some customers would need to travel to Lomond Industrial Estate in Alexandria to collect parcels and other items of mail.

Royal Mail has said that the closure is necessary to save money but Jackie has insisted that a presence must be maintained in Dumbarton.

Jackie said:

“During the meeting it was clear that the Royal Mail is determined to plough ahead with its closure plans to save money. This is exactly the kind of profit-driven cuts to services that Labour warned about when the Tories privatised our postal service.

“I will continue to fight against the closure because transferring the delivery office to Alexandria will make it impossible for some local people without a car to access this vital public service. There are no public transport links to Lomond Industrial Estate and the walk to the nearest bus stop will put it out of reach for many elderly and disabled people.

“Royal Mail may insist that there are other ways of collecting undelivered mail but the fact is that there will always be a need for a local collection office. People who are not at home during the day would find it difficult to arrange a redelivery and not everyone feels comfortable about leaving parcels with neighbours.

“Dumbarton delivery office is right in the middle of the town centre, making it easy for customers to collect undelivered items and for staff to get to work. If this closure goes ahead then Royal Mail must come up with a plan to maintain a presence on Dumbarton High Street for local customers. We need to do everything we can to increase footfall in the High Street and, with organisations like Cube Housing Association and West Dunbartonshire Council moving their offices into the town centre, it makes sense to keep all of our public services in one location in the centre of the town