In a detailed submission to Post Office Ltd urging a rethink, the council says almost a third of Swaffham's residents are of retirement age – and the percentage is fast approaching DOUBLE the national average.

It also draws attention to the 400 new houses being built in Brandon Road, just 500 metres from the London Street branch, and the influx of migrant workers now making up about ten per cent of the town's population.

The council says: "Swaffham has an ageing population with a much- higher percentage of residents who are above retirement age than the immediate district, and regionally and nationally.

"This fact alone makes a strong case for the retention of the London Street branch, as it is closer and more convenient to more than 50 per cent of the resident population with a large percentage being the elderly and infirm.

"This section of the community is far more likely to have mobility problems in and around the town and far more likely to use a post office on their doorstep."

It says the new Brandon Road homes, and other smaller but significant developments, will increase pressure on the one remaining post office at McColls in the Market Place.

And with some surrounding villages having no post office or outreach, the customer base is likely to increase substantially making both Swaffham's post offices "sustainable in the longer term".

The council says surveys being carried out for its town plan have shown that 62 per cent of migrant workers surveyed had used the post office in the last week. "They see the post office as vital for maintaining contact with friends and relatives plus sending back money and goods," it says.

London Street PO is also used by parents taking children to and from three of the town's schools, and two are being enlarged.

A study of people working in Swaffham showed that a third of those living in villages less than ten miles from the town had used one of its post offices within the last week, and 27 per cent of those travelled from more than ten miles away.

"It is therefore crucial that people are able to access post office services in the locality where they work," the council says.

"Swaffham needs two post offices to serve its visitors, the hinterland villages that see Swaffham as a service centre for their needs, its 7,000-plus residents and those who work in the town."