Steve ladyman welcomed the decesion by the Post office not to close Cliffsend Post Office.

"The decision means that a much needed village resource has been saved and the village hall has a chance to prosper. I am grateful to everyone who responded to my survey and helped me give the Post Office the constructive feedback they needed to arrive at this decision.

Steve Ladyman received over 200 responses to a survey that he sent to Cliffsend villagers about the proposed closure of Cliffsend Post Office. Steve wrote to everyone who lives around the four post offices in South Thanet that are being considered for closure but received the biggest response from Cliffsend.

"A lot of people were obviously very concerned about the proposed closure of Clffsend Post Office and the impact it would have on village life. I also got a good response about the other branches under threat. The strong response about the Bellevue Rd., Ramsgate branch reflected the number of older people who live on the Eastcliff at Ramsgate and relied on that branch."

"The fact is that crude petitions about Post Office closures make no difference. You had to give Post Office Ltd solid reasons why their proposal was wrong and this feedback helped me do that. It's been a lot of work for me and my staff organising the survey and a lot of work for people who responded but, with Cliffsend post office to remain open, the effort was well worth it."

On the other hand, Dr.Ladyman professed himself disappointed that two Ramsgate Post Offices and the Post Office in Woodnesborough are still to close.

"We gave the Post Office good feedback about the two Ramsgate offices but in the end I think the Post Office have decided there were good enough alternatives at St Lawrence and in the Town Centre. It's a disappointment."

"I'm also very disappointed that Woodnesborough is closing as that closure will mean real hardship for some people, especially older people, in the village. Perhaps it was inevitable since the Post Mistress was keen to let the office go and you have to respect her desire to move on with her life even if it will be a sad day for the village when the Office closes."

"However, I intend to write to the Post Office to see if there is any possibility of a peripatetic service attending the village. If there was a visiting mobile service every week that would certainly allow older people and people with difficulty using public transport to get their pension."

Steve received (by 29th October) 203 survey responses about Cliffsend, 35 from Woodnesborough, 87 from Bellevue Rd., and 37 about Grange Rd.

''The Government has put a great deal of money into the Post Office and no other political party has even said they would match it. The Liberal Democrats say they would privatise Royal Mail to pay to keep some branches open and the Tories have done no more than shed crocodile tears over closing branches without offering one penny more to save them. Thanks to the Government the remaining branches will provide a wide ranging and sustainable service into the future. Cliffsend and the many other branches currently operating in South Thanet will be part of that service; it's a great shame that these two Ramsgate branches and Woodnesborough will not be."