See below a copy of Stephen's letter with regards to the proposed closure of the post office at Freshwater Square.

Date: 17^th May 2013

To Whom it May Concern

As the local Member of Parliament for Eastbourne and Willingdon I have long been a supporter of our local post office network. I campaigned strongly to try to stop the Wish Hill Post Office closing 6 years ago, so am delighted it is reopening. However I remain very disappointed at the proposed closure of the post office in Freshwater Square.

To celebrate the launch of Carers Week, 10-16 June 2013, local MP, Stephen Lloyd has joined forces with actress Lynda Bellingham, to recognise the contribution that local carers in make on a daily basis.

In a photocall in Westminster, Stephen Lloyd, pledged his support to carers across Eastbourne and Willingdon as part of the national awareness campaign, Carers Week. The week is an opportunity to celebrate the 6.5 million carers across the UK and raise awareness of the impact that caring has on people's lives.

Stephen Lloyd local MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon, is backing The National Autistic Society's (NAS) new campaign aimed at improving support for adults with autism locally and across England.

One in every hundred adults has autism, meaning there are 300,000 adults in England with the disability.

Stephen's endorsement of the 'Push For Action' campaign follows a recent NAS survey of 1100 people across England, which showed that many adults with the disability are missing out on the sup
port they need:

Eastbourne MP, Stephen Lloyd praised local residents' work to save the Potter Flower Bee - the area's 'iconic' bee

Bee-lovers have taken over 236 actions to save bees in Eastbourne as part of Friends of the Earth's Bee Cause campaign.

Actions include planting bee friendly seeds, signing petitions and building 'bee hotels' to replace lost natural habitat.

Stephen Lloyd MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon pledged his support to protect vital specialist services for deaf children, at an event held at the Houses of Parliament on Thursday 16^th May.

The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) invited MPs from across England to support a call for a Parliamentary debate to protect specialist services, such as Teachers of the Deaf.

Following the robbery at the Hampden Park Post Office off Brassey Avenue, the MP Stephen Lloyd has written to ask that it be reopened as soon as possible.

He said: "It was a shock for all of us that such a brutal armed robbery happened in Eastbourne and I know the Police are doing all they can to catch the culprit. This post office offered a vital service in the local area and it is important that Post Office Ltd take every possible action to repair and reopen it as soon as possible. I am glad that they have been able to offer a shuttle bus to take shoppers to other local premises but this can only be a temporary measure. Consequently I have written to their senior managers asking for a timetable for when they expect the Hampden Park Post Office to be open again for business."

This year's Local Newspaper Week will be themed around the importance of local papers' freedom to scrutinise authority and hold the powerful to account.

With almost 31 million people reading local newspapers every week and 1,100 local papers published across the UK, their popularity and importance remain high.

At Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions, Stephen Lloyd MP pressed Nick Clegg - standing in for David Cameron - about last week's changes to Eastbourne's maternity services.

In 2007/08 East Sussex Healthcare Trust (ESHT) attempted to downgrade maternity services at the Eastbourne District General Hospital (DGH), however those proposals were halted by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) in 2008. The IRP felt if Eastbourne's maternity service was reduced women's access to, and choice of, services would be 'seriously compromised' and the journey from Eastbourne to the Conquest Hospital in Hastings, 'posed a risk of incidents, especially during unexpected transfers'.

The Queen's Speech will help 1,170 businesses in Eastbourne and Willingdon by cutting National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

The National Insurance Contributions Bill announced by the Queen this week will introduce a National Insurance employment allowance of £2,000. This will reduce the cost of employment and support small businesses aspiring to grow who want to hire their first employee, or expand their workforce.

Last week the Crime and Courts Bill Received royal assent, and with it the law to outlaw Drug Driving, commonly known as 'Lillian's Law' after the tragic death of Lillian Groves in 2010.

Lillian's Grandparents are Eastbourne residents, and the whole family met with Stephen last week when he organised for them to visit the Houses of Parliament.

This week Stephen Lloyd MP met a senior manager from the Post Office Ltd to express residents' concerns at the closure of the longstanding Post Office in Freshwater Square, Willingdon. It was explained to Mr Lloyd that Post Office Ltd had not sought out this situation but were having to manage the current shop owners wish to retire.

Following discussions between the Transport Group of the MP's Commission for Eastbourne and Southern it has been made easier for passengers to park at Eastbourne railway station. Head of the transport group, Dave Cooper, pointed out to Southern a difficulty he had encountered when buying a weekly season ticket for travel but being unable to buy one for parking which meant that he had to attend the ticket machines daily, thus contributing to queuing and requiring the machines to be used more often.

In Hampden Park last week the well-established Princess Diana Memorial Garden was opened by the MP, ready for the print and summer exhibition season. The garden has been planted and maintained from the beginning by head Gardener Mr Bertie Wilmshurst.

He built the garden by Hampden Park station 17 years ago to concentrate the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

It has just been announced that the Ocklynge Chapel Cemetery has been formally designated a Grade II Listed building. English Heritage had taken into account all the representations made and completed an assessment of the building. Having considered their recommendation, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has decided to add Ocklynge Cemetery Chapel to the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.

Stephen Lloyd MP has secured a debate in Parliament next week (18^th April) about the future of maternity and children's services at the Eastbourne DGH. The debate, titled Obstetric and Paediatric Services in East Sussex is in response to the decision by East Sussex Healthcare Trust to downgrade Eastbourne's maternity department to a midwife led unit, as well as closing in-patient paediatrics. The debate will mean a Minister will have to formally respond to Lloyd in the House of Commons.