Bradford Council is calling for a stay of execution on the 17 post offices across the district earmarked for closure.

At a public meeting last night, council and union leaders joined residents in demanding the Post Office hold off on its closure plans until 2006.

The council's Regeneration and Economy and Improvement Committee unanimously agreed to ask the company to delay its plans for two years when the full impact of regeneration projects, including the Broadway, have been felt.

The council also wants Post Office Ltd to double its consultation period on the closures to 12 weeks, claiming its six-week consultation ignores cabinet guidelines, and it is questioning the firm's business case.

Speaking after the meeting, chair of the committee Councillor Val Slater said: "We are not convinced Post Office Ltd's business plan is robust enough and we have asked them to work with us to develop a more comprehensive area plan.

"In some instances they have not followed their own procedures with reference to Post Offices in urban deprived areas which include branches at Tyersal, Reevy Road West and Thorpe Edge.

"The government says in an urban deprived area a post office should not be closed unless there is another post office half a mile away and in these cases the post office's own figures show this figure has been exceeded."

Despite opposition to the proposed closures, less than 40 people, including councillors, turned up at the meeting at St George's Hall to hear from Post Office Ltd and Postwatch.

Age Concern, Bradford pensioners and Communications Workers Union members spoke against the closures.

Gerry Sutcliffe, Labour MP for Bradford South, was unable to attend the meeting. In a written statement, he said the "stark truth" was that there was no longer enough business to support the post office network at its current size, adding: "In my capacity as a constituency MP, I have been fully involved in the consultation process in Bradford on possible post office closures."

Post Office Ltd external relations manager Matt Silcock said the Exchange Post Office made a loss of £150,000 last year and claimed the closures were aimed at avoiding ad-hoc closures by sub postmasters struggling with their ailing businesses.

He said: "Benefits started being put into bank accounts in April 2003. We perceive this will lose us about 40 per cent of our business in the Post office network. It was deemed better to manage (the closures) in a controlled manner than an adhoc manner."

Secretary of the Forum Focused on Pensioner Power in Bradford, Audrey Raistrick, said: "We have heard about deprived areas and areas without post offices are deprived areas. We have heard about investment but what about investment in pensioners? It's devastating for them."

Malcolm Bullogh of Postwatch North, which has received 400 coupons and letters against the closures from Telegraph & Argus readers, urged people to make their feelings known and promised to listen.