'This isn't about rich or poor... without this, we will suffer'

It's a freezing afternoon in north Manchester. Despite the weather, Harpurhey shopping centre is bustling.

A steady stream of people make their way down the steps of the Barnes Green Post Office, in its north west corner just off Rochdale Road, having popped in to post Christmas cards, pay bills or withdraw money.

One of them is Courtney Bailey. A resident in these parts for almost 15 years, 52 year-old Courtney is a regular visitor. He says he was stunned and disappointed to hear last week that - along with 100 others across the country - it is now at risk at closure.

READ MORE: Exact locations of Greater Manchester Post Office closures

Outside, a group of politicians and campaigners have gathered to protest against the proposals. Courtney stops to sign a petition calling for Barnes Green to be 'saved'.

"The Post Office is a vital piece of infrastructure for the Harpurhey community," Courtney says after handing back the pen he used to add his name to the growing number on the petition.

"Without it we will suffer. I have lived here for over 14 years and I have been using the Post Office to do every transaction I can think of. I use it every week. Without it, where are we going to go? The nearest other one I can think of is Moston. It's not as big as this one."

Courtney says he has seen 'a lot of development' in the area, particularly the district centre, over the last decade and a half.

He says he believes this has been 'more for the corporations and the capitalists' and 'not so much the local people'. He adds: "If we lose the Post Office, we will lose something that is not replaceable. If they remove it, what are they going to replace it with? A bank? I doubt it. The Post Office is the people's bank. The first bank.

"It's not a matter of deprivation, or poverty. The Post Office is a vital service for everyone that does commerce inside or outside the UK. It's nothing to do with rich or poor, it's a vital service for the people. That is it."

Andrew Simcock agrees. He is councillor for Didsbury East, a ward with a distinctly different demographic to Harpurhey The Post Office in Didsbury village is also among the eight in Greater Manchester under threat.

He has travelled to the other end of the city to 'show soladarity' with his counterparts Pat Karney and Joanne Green, who are leading the campaign in Harpurhey.

"It's quite shocking really that you can travel the eight miles from Didsbury, through the city centre, and there's no crown Post Office," he says. "One of my constituents said she used the replacement facility in Manchester and found they'd missed vital things about sending a parcel abroad. She had to bring it back to Didsbury and the experts there showed exactly them what they needed to do.

"They offer banking services across the board. Even in Didsbury banks are closing and people will really miss those services if the Post Office closes as well."

"It would be madness to close this," says Pete Greenfield, 59, after heading out of Barnes Green with wife Kirsty, 54. The couple now live in Rochdale but used to reside in Blackley when they were regular visitors. They have made a special trip here today.

"We have been to two other Post Offices to try and get his driving licence renewed," Kirsty says. "But they didn't have the forms. So we've come back here as we know it well and know they are good. They are so helpful in there.

"If they want to close it because no one uses it you could understand it," Pete adds. "But they do. It's a one-stop-shop. Ultimately the Post Office shouldn't be about profit. You always think of it as a public service."

Joan Farnley, 72, has first-hand experience of this. She worked in the Post Office in Failsworth for eight years. "You are on the front line helping people with all sorts," she says. "Admittedly, you then had to come in to do your car tax and we were slammed with people doing that, now that's all online.

"But in poorer areas not as many people have access to computers. And they often need help filling forms in and doing official things. I struggle doing things online myself."

One of those supporting the campaign is the local MP and Labour stalwart, Graham Stringer, who tells the M.E.N: "My office is just there, I use the Post Office regularly and there's always a queue. It's always busy. It employs a lot of people and it's an anchor to this district centre. So I never imagined the Post Office would want to close it.

Mr Stringer says he has had a 'preliminary' meeting with Gareth Thomas, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Services, Small Businesses and Exports.

"I will be writing to the Post Office directly and asking by what criteria they are threatening to close a very successful Post Office in one of the most deprived parts of the country," he says.

"I think it can be saved. It may be in a different format, my instinct is the Post Office are in such a mess they want them off their hands whether they hand them over as a franchise or some other means. But it would be an absolute disgrace if they didn't exist in some form."

The Post Office has been contacted for comment.

The firm said last week it was 'considering a range of options to reduce our central costs' and that 'this includes considering the future of our remaining Directly Managed Branches, which are loss-making'.

Chairman Nigel Railton told staff last week that a proposed shake-up will offer a 'new deal for postmasters' by increasing their share of revenue and giving them a greater say in the running of the business as it looks to move on from the Horizon IT scandal that saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongfully convicted.

“We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal," he said.