POST office closures across England and Wales could have a devastating impact on many small firms, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) is warning.

Businesses, including those in rural areas that rely on the network, have been discovering which branches are to go in order to address financial losses.

Before Christmas, postmasters in Cardiff and Glamorgan Valleys learned which branches in their areas were to close.

Most recently, the government published the names of the post offices it has earmarked for closure in North West England - specifically Merseyside, Wirral, and Cheshire with Wigan, Leigh and Makerfield.

"The government's review of the postal service recognised the important social role that post office branches play within communities," said the FPB's Policy Representative, Mathew Goodman.

"Indeed, small firms in the vicinity frequently benefit from the passing trade. Closing these outlets, and the subsequent loss of the services they provide, could be a real body blow for many small businesses unless adequate alternative arrangements are put in place."

The government has already revealed the list of branches that will be axed in Kent, the East Midlands, East Yorkshire with Bassetlaw and North Lincolnshire, as well as East Essex and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Isle of White, Greater Glasgow, Central Scotland, Argyll and Bute.

Closures in other parts of the country are to be announced later this year. In total, 2,500 Post Office branches are expected to go across the UK.

The Post Office is selecting the branches it wants to close using the government's "national access criteria", which includes the stipulation that 95 per cent of a postcode district's population is within six miles of a post office.

The FPB believes that this is a reasonable way to reapportion postal services, but is warning that religiously sticking to an approach based on population levels could fail to meet the individual needs of local communities - including the specific services required by small businesses.

The FPB agrees that new, innovative ways of providing for remote communities could help to offset the impact of the closures.

Suggestions include situating post offices in alternative locations, such as pubs, increasing the window of opportunity for mailings and providing mobile "outreach" services.

However, the Post Office must ensure that the level and variety of services provided for small firms by their local branches does not suffer.