THE LEADER of Harlow Council has written to the boss of Greater Anglia urging him to reconsider proposals to close Harlow Town station ticket office.

Councillor Dan Swords has published the letter to the Managing Director of Great Anglia, Jamie Burles (see below).

The publication has come after Labour councillor Tony Edwards brought the subject up at last Thursday’s council meeting and invited the leader to “publicly condemn proposals to close the ticket office”

Letter from Councillor Swords to Mr Burles.

I am writing to raise the very many concerns of Harlow residents with regard to the proposal to consider closing the ticket office at Harlow Town station.

I have heard first hand from many residents, particularly vulnerable and disabled, about their deep and sincere concerns with these proposals. It is evident that the proposal would mean a significant change to the way many residents use the station, and I share the worry of many residents that this would not be a positive change.

Whilst I do support modernisation of the railway to improve services, I do not agree that closing the ticket office achieves this. On the contrary, I fear it will leave passengers worse off and without proper service and assistance. I understand from the consultation that there are not proposed job losses but were this to be the case it would not only degrade the service but have a devastating impact on those employees.

Therefore, I urge you to reconsider the proposal to close the ticket office at Harlow Town Station and to engage in meaningful dialogue with the community, passengers, and stakeholders to improve the services you provide for Harlow residents.

I would also like to invite you to Harlow to meet with concerned residents and campaign groups as soon as possible to discuss this matter further.