A CAMPAIGN to save Huddersfield's main post offices has been won.
The protest, led by Labour councillors and MPs Barry Sheerman and Kali Mountford, has ended with a guarantee from the Post Office.
They say that neither the New Street nor the Northumberland Street offices will close.
The assurance comes after the Post Office confirmed several Crown Offices would be shutting, along with many more sub-post offices.
Clr Mehboob Khan, leader of Kirklees Labour Group, said: "We had an overwhelming and positive response from hundreds of members of the public to the petition we ran toward the end of last year.
"So it is good to be able to come back and say to all those people `thank you' for taking the time and effort.
"Consequently the post offices will stay open' ".
A spokesman for Post Office Ltd said: "There is no closure programme for Crown Post Office branches in Huddersfield. We are not looking at reducing our services in any way.
"The Post Office is committed to directly running a significant number of its branches, staffed by its own employees".
The Post Office has some 16,000 branches nationwide, of which 560 are directly managed Crown offices.
But the Post Office network lost more than £70m last year and is looking to reduce costs.
A spokesperson for Postwatch, the consumer watchdog, said:
"We are always concerned about the closure of Crown offices. We expect the Post Office to consult widely before coming to any conclusions."
Clr Khan said he told the Post Office that his constituents, fellow councillors and local businesses thought keeping the two town centre offices was vital because of wider social issues, such as tackling social exclusion and to help anti-poverty plans by Kirklees Council and the Government.
"I am glad to see it appears that, for once, the Post Office seems to be listening," he added.
