Future of Headingley Post Office secured

The news came yesterday that the future of Headingley Post Office has been secured at last. This has been in doubt since February 2016, when Post Office Limited announced proposals to close it and replace it with a franchise counter in another shop.

Yesterday, the Post Office announced to their staff that an agreement in principle has been struck for the Post Office to relocate into Headingley Library. A period of consultation with staff and customers will now begin, and if all goes to plan the Post Office will move into the library March 2018.

Headingley Library itself will close shortly for a refurbishment, and re-open as a Community Hub in March: now complete with the new Post Office. There will be a ‘Pop up’ library in Headingley during the closure.

We are really pleased with this outcome, which preserves vital Post Office services at the heart of Headingley. It has come about thanks to dedicated hard work and campaigning from many people, and we would like to pay tribute in particular to:

  • Greg Mulholland and the Headingley Liberal Democrats, who collected thousands of petition signatures online and on paper and wrote multiple letters to Post Office Limited asking them to reconsider their plans
  • The Weetwood resident who originally suggested that the Post Office might move into Headingley Library, and Weetwood Liberal Democrat Councillor Sue Bentley who took this forward to the Council.
Greg Mulholland and the Headingley Liberal Democrats campaigning to save the Post Office in March 2016.

Greg Mulholland and the Headingley Liberal Democrats campaigning to save the Post Office in March 2016.

General Election result

Well, the General Election is all wrapped up now, and the result for the Liberal Democrats in Leeds North West was disappointing. In absolute numbers, more people voted for our former MP, Greg Mulholland, than in 2015, but a much greater vote increase for Labour means that they won out overall. This was the result:

We can only pay tribute to Greg’s dedication, principle and hard work during his 12 years as an MP, and during the two years before that which he spent as a councillor for Headingley. His will be a hard act to follow, but of course we hope that his Labour successor will be as great a champion for the people of Headingley and Hyde Park as Greg has been.

Meanwhile, our own work at local level in Headingley and Hyde Park will of course continue.

April surgery

Today, Leeds North West MP Greg Mulhollagreg-sainsburysnd is holding his regular MP’s surgery at Sainsburys in the Arndale Centre, Headingley. He will be there from 12.30 to 1.30 p.m. for constituents to raise any issues which they would like his help with. No appointment is needed.

Full details of Greg’s regular constituency surgeries are available here. You can also meet with him by appointment on the third Friday of each month at the Cardigan Centre, Cardigan Road, Headingley.

March surgery

Today, Greg Mulholland is holding his regular MP’s surgery at Sainsburys in the Arndale Centre, Headingley. He will be there from 12.30 to 1.30 p.m. for constituents to raise any issues which they would like his help with. No appointment is needed.

Full details of Greg’s regular constituency surgeries are available here. You can also meet with him by appointment on the third Friday of each month at the Cardigan Centre, Cardigan Road, Headingley.

Local opposition to Yorkshire Bank branch closure

On Wednesday of this week, the Yorkshire Bank announced that it will be closing 39 branches, including the one on the Otley Road in Headingley.

Local MP Greg Mulholland has called on the bank to reconsider the decision, pointing out how much many people in Headingley – and especially vulnerable people – rely on their local branch. You can read more about Greg’s opposition to the closure here.

Yorkshire Bank, Otley Road, Headingley, Leeds (30th December 2014).JPG
Image by Mtaylor848 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link