PEOPLE are being urged to have their say as the battle to save a village post office gathers momentum.

Residents have rallied round after it was revealed last week that the branch at the top of Haworth Main Street is earmarked for closure.

Manager Sammy Ahmed, who has run the business on a temporary contract with wife Samira for nearly three years, has been given notice and told it will shut on August 26.

Post Office Ltd confirms it is proposing to relocate facilities to the new Co-op store in the village and has begun a public consultation – which ends on August 27.

Worth Valley councillor, Rebecca Poulsen, hopes a meeting may be held between Mr Ahmed and Post Office Ltd in a bid to find a solution.

“Ideally I would like to see facilities at both sites – the Main Street post office retained and provision within the Co-up,” she said.

“The village has expanded, so the demand is there.

“But at the end of the day the decision is with the Post Office. It’s important that people feed into the official consultation. The Post Office wants to know if moving provision to the Co-op would cause difficulties ­– and what impact it would have on residents and businesses.”

Keighley MP Robbie Moore, who has raised the issue in Parliament and secured a meeting with the Government communities minister – Luke Hall – to discuss the situation, also urges people to make their views known.

He said this week: “The campaign to save Haworth Post Office is gathering lots of support.

“It is clear that residents are against this proposal and their views must be respected. That is why it is vital that as many people as possible respond to the Post Office’s consultation to ensure that public feelings are known through the official channels.

“I will be spending the next few weeks making sure as many people as possible know about this issue and how to respond to the consultation.”

Post Office Ltd says the move to the Co-op would mean longer opening hours, with the same range of products and services on offer.

Opening hours would be Monday-Sunday, 7am to 10pm.

A spokesperson added: “We have started a period of local public consultation and people’s feedback is important to us.

“We are particularly interested in hearing public views on accessibility and the proposed location.

“Customers can share their views online at postofficeviews.co.uk with the branch code 301306.

“Submissions can also be made via email to comments@postoffice.co.uk, by post to Freepost YOUR COMMENTS, or by telephone 03452 66 01 15 or textphone 03457 22 33 55.”