Hot topic: Post Office closures

Hot topic: Post Office closures

Post Office victory in W14

The post office will return to W14, almost a year after it shut in a ‘temporary closure’.

The post office counter inside Costcutter on Hammersmith Road closed in February last year, handing W14 the dubious honour of being the first postcode in London not to have a branch since postcodes were introduced in 1857.

But, after vigorous campaigning from Hammersmith & Fulham Council and borough residents, the council has received verbal confirmation that the branch is back.

Das Sodha, the owner of North End News, has just signed, sealed and delivered a contract with the Post Office to become a new sub-post master. The shop on North End Road - just yards from Costcutter - will house a counter but it is not known yet when the branch will be up and running.

Councillor Paul Bristow, cabinet member for residents’ services, said: "Since day one, we have been asking the Post Office to give residents their branch, and now it is finally happening. The fight to save postal services in this borough has been tough, but this is a well-earned victory from which so many people will benefit." Read more...

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Watch the video of the Post Office closures public meeting held at Hammersmith Town Hall on 19 March 2008:

» Watch the video on YouTube (opens new window)

 

The Post Office's public consultation closed on Wednesday 2 April 2008.
» Read the council's submission (pdf 71KB)

Related information:
» Visit the Post Office's website (opens new window)

 

Number of Tesco’s around the Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington areas is disgraceful, when we have no post office near to the North End Road because of them.
From J. Mann on 18/06/08

I know that this is belated, but I really wanted to say how outraged I am at the proposed closures of post offices in Hammersmith and Fulham. This is unacceptable, for all the reasons previously stated at the meeting I was unable to attend.
From Sarah Francis on 16/04/08

The great advantage of the post office within Hammersmith Broadway was that it had 2-way traffic, whilst W.H.Smith’s, in King's Mall, is in a 1-way system. This must be kept in mind when undertaking future planning. 100 yards is a long way to walk for many frail, elderly people.
From D.A. Hannigan on 04/04/08

(On closure of Askew Road Post Office) This post office is essential for the most vulnerable in the community - if this closes, it is a long and difficult trip to other branches for these people. The alternative offices are busy, notably Hammersmith Broadway branch, which always has a long queue. Should local people have to wait for 20 minutes every time they need something from the post office? There is no alternative for many of the services provided by the post office, so they should at least try to offer a reasonable service.
From Dr Sarah Brice on 31/03/08

Post Offices are a necessity to our community well being. They must be kept open!
From Mary E. McNulty on 19/03/08

This is again short sighted planning. The community needs post offices. There are long queues in all offices now, with further closures the waiting time and inconvenience will be intolerable.
From Rob Phillips on 18/03/08

I am against all six post offices closing down, especially when we have already had so many closed recently. This is not acceptable for the community or for the Post Office if they are thinking they are still providing us with a service. If any need to close, the planning should be thought through better. What are the residents of Hammersmith and Fulham borough supposed to do? I use the Goldhawk Road branch and going to the Green will be a struggle. How many more are they planning to close? Maybe someone should set up in competition and let us customers have a choice. But that’s the point - we don’t have a choice, do we? And will this petition save anything?
From Anonymous on 18/03/08

I am totally opposed to the closure of yet more post offices. The loss of Blythe Road branch has had an enormous impact and I am incredulous that anyone is contemplating reducing the service any more. Are we to no longer have a postal service in London? It would seem that the management have determined that we shall not - inaccessible post offices do not enable people to use them, so less revenue etc, etc. A downward spiral, ending where? In the meantime, hardship for determined customers or become an ex-customer, like me.
From V Byrom on 18/03/08

I live in West Kensington where we have already seen the closure of our North End Rd office, our Blythe Rd office and finally the branch in the Costcutter’s in what used to be the Nat West Bank. I am horrified that Hammersmith Broadway Crown Post Office is to close - there’s no need to repeat what others have put so well and at length here already. To close a post office at the hub of a transport network in an important business centre?! Crazy! And hide it away in a branch of a WHSmith?? Apparently, the post office in Kensington High Street is also set to close. The impression in this part of West London is that the Post Office is in total retreat from this area, and simply doesn’t care. Next time I, an able-bodied person, go to Earls Court, I shall go to the branch of Mail Boxes there and beg the manager to pass on to his organisation a suggestion to open a branch in West Kensington. They will be assured of a good supply of grateful customers. If the Royal Mail doesn’t care, let’s open up to those who do! And just one last thing… In the absence of such a solution I would like to remind the Royal Mail that we need post offices to... SEND THINGS!
From Helena Coope on 15/03/08

We wish to protest in the strongest possible terms against the closures proposed by the Post Office. In particular, we protest at the closure of the post office in Kings Parade, Starch Green. It is well attended, essential to those of us living and working in the immediate area. We are urged not to use our cars, but closure of this post office would force us to do so. Our business is dependant on quick and efficient mailing. The postmaster and mistress are knowledgeable and helpful and provide us with the many varied services we require.
From Sika Carey on 14/03/08

There is no postal office service in W14!! What are the residents supposed to do? Travel to another postcode to get these services? Or is the PO hoping everything will be done through a direct debit and so they wouldn’t have to employ more staff, but have more closures Instead? Re-open the Blythe Road office please! It is wrong not to have a post office in W14, this cannot be fair under trading standards! Where is ‘Watchdog’ when you need them?? My father is disabled and housebound; it is down to me and my young family to do all his errands, as my mother can’t leave him for more than 10 minutes alone. I live in Goldhawk Road, they live by Olympia, and I am there daily, doing errands for them. If the Goldhawk Road branch closed, this would mean there would be no post office between the two addresses ... It’s disgraceful! And what is this I hear about 'looking into using the libraries for PO service'?? It gets worse and worse and is unacceptable.
From Sherry Lawson on 14/03/08

I am totally against these closures and agree that something MUST be done to keep serving the public by keeping them open.
From Juliet Simpson on 12/03/08

What are we supposed to do if you close down 88 Goldhawk Road post office and the Shepherds Bush Road one, traipse all the way to WHSmith? As a mother of a toddler and somebody who doesn't have a lot of saying power in queues, I protest to this plan of closure. Are we supposed to queue for over half an hour to pay our rent/bills or send parcels? It's ridiculous, to say the least. What is the Post Office playing at? Are we to have one main post office in the middle of the square mile of the borough? To take away the local community post office is taking away our local rights as residents to have a say in our public services. But you know what, the PO won’t listen, nor will they care, this is already planned and finalised. Did they listen when we protested about the Hammersmith Broadway closure? No. Is this petition a waste of time and effort? Yes. Why? The PO doesn't care about what we want, they have their plans and targets to meet and our wishes are irrelevant to them. Will this mean the PO charges will rise as well? Watch this space for that answer.
From Sherry Lawson on 12/03/08

I am against these closures because:
1. Local post offices give vital service to the local community;
2. Closures greatly inconvenience many vulnerable people in the community;
3. This service is paid for by the people through their rates and taxes for their own benefit and should not be closed to redirect the money into somebody else’s pocket.
From Nail Guirguis on 10/03/08

I am totally incredulous about the proposed post office closures in H&F. If anything, residents need more post offices rather than fewer. This is particularly true in the W14 postcode, which has suffered from a long string of closures in the last few years - first in Richmond Way, then Blythe Road, leaving the post office on the Hammersmith Road (at Costcutter’s) as the only one serving the area within an acceptable (just!) distance. Now that the Costcutter shop has closed down, that leaves the post office on Kensington High Street (near the Odeon cinema) as the only one serving the area, which is clearly unsatisfactory. I would urge the Royal Mail to adopt a clear policy of expansion rather than closures. After all, whatever the exact financial structure behind it, the postal service is still a public service at large, which is intended for the benefit of the whole community. If the issue is one of financial loss, has the Royal Mail considered other measures in order to reverse the trend? How many users of the postal services would object to an increase of a few pennies on 1st and 2nd class stamps and other postal products? My guess would be: very few, if this entailed a halt on these short-sighted and, ultimately, hardly responsible closures.
From Dr G. Novarino on 10/03/08

I understand that this is an EU directive - that post offices have to be profit-making. Is this correct? What a sad state that profit has to come before the needs of the people. What does that say about our society? Not a lot. Respect the people, the electorate and keep the pivotal post offices OPEN!
From Miki Jablkowska on 10/03/08

I wish to protest at the proposed closure of the post office on Goldhawk Road. This is a fantastic community facility which is always busy and offers a great service. I strongly support other comments posted here, that closure of this branch would severely affect many vulnerable people for whom the post office offers a vital service and friendly neighbourhood forum. It will be a very sad day if this office closes.
From Adam Jackson on 10/03/08

We are already suffering a lot of hardship from the post office closures which took place not so long ago. At work, instead of a member of staff taking maximum of 10 minutes to take the franked mail to the post office, it takes half an hour every day. That is a lot of working hours lost. Locally, my mother and mother in law both use the post office. They are very elderly and do not have computers etc. for internet banking. They need to be able to have someone help them with day to day tasks, as they are not very mobile and they have visual impairments which make reading forms or using new technology very difficult. The post offices are great resources where you can change money, bank etc., as well as getting your pension and buying stamps. If we have to get a bus to reach the nearest branch, we are going to use them less and less. Then what?
From Amanda Webb on 09/03/08

I am opposed to all six of the proposed closures and especially the closure of my local branch, 7 Kings Parade, Askew Road. I would either have to go into the Hammersmith Town Centre or to Shepherd's Bush.
From Victoria Carter on 09/03/08

The proposed closures do not affect me directly, because I live in W14, and all our post offices have been closed already. The Royal Mail’s current advertising shtick, "The People's Post Office" is laughable: it's not the people choosing to close post offices, it's the organization itself... Some imaginative thinking and a spot of investment on the part of the Royal Mail could see it become a thriving business and the community hub that it's always aspired (and pretended) to be.
From John Dyke on 09/03/08

The post office closures are very bad indeed! Expecting the elderly and disabled to walk from their residences from Askew Road and further, to the Uxbridge Road branch, is ludicrous!
From Ivy Temple on 08/03/08

Post Office petition forms are available in all libraries - why is this not mentioned on your website?
From James Anderson on 07/03/08

The proposal to close both post offices on the Askew Road is ridiculous. It was also mentioned to me that the staff were told if they talked about it they would be fired. This is disgraceful and intimidating.
From Felicity McKinney on 06/03/08

I am writing on behalf of my neighbour, who lives on Crabtree Lane, SW6 and who is 99 in June. She has asked me to tell you that she is upset about the proposed closures because she gets her pension from the local post office. She does not have a bank account and there are no local banks anyway, so how is she to get any money? She can't walk far.
From Maggie Wilson (on behalf of Hilda Martin) on 06/03/08

Currently, post offices seem to be run for people who don’t work and have more time than they know what to do with. We’re asked to queue in order to receive a leaflet that could have been on display. We queue again to learn we haven’t completed the form correctly. The shops are closed when we want to shop there. Modern retailing and opening hours have passed these branches by. We know the PO know all this, and yet they continue with this lamentable lack of customer service. Meanwhile the Royal Mail delivery people continue to litter our streets with red rubber bands their postmen & postwomen can’t be bothered to recycle. The Royal Mail have been told about this waste on more than one occasion over the past year or so: they know the problem, and yet still it goes on. Overall, this appears to be a dysfunctional business. Please close these inefficient branches asap.
From Hamish Pringle on 06/03/08

It would be a great inconvenience to lose this facility (146 Shepherds Bush Road) so close to our office. Waiting times there are often protracted because of the queues. If that business had to transfer to another branch further away, not only would we spend more time reaching it, but also more time in longer queues - not an efficient use of business time! Also, this would be a great loss of an amenity to the local community. I don't understand the logic in closing down a local public service and funnelling the demand elsewhere, causing frustration and inconvenience to the users.
From Diane Hanna on 06/03/08

The geographical location of the Kenyon Street Post Office makes it almost unique within the borough, as it serves an entire outlying area largely hemmed in by the river. Many of the sub post offices not listed for closure are located in close proximity to main branches - Dawes Road Post Office and the North End Road main branch for instance, can't be more than three minutes walk apart - while the Kenyon Street Post Office serves all residents of Bishops Park and the Palace Riverside Ward. For most residents, many of whom have young children, this proposed closure will mean either a car journey (senseless) or more probably the catching of two buses. The alternative is a twenty five minute walk (at least). It makes next to no sense to close the Kenyon Street Post Office, especially as the next nearest one, at 780 Fulham Road, is also being closed. Why, oh why, etc. I think someone from the Post Office needs to get their A-Z out.
From Rob Chapman on 05/03/08

I understand that there have been some 1,200 signatures opposing the proposed closure of the post office at 58 Kenyon Street. I strongly object to the proposed closure for the following reasons: this post office is at the hub of a residential community; it is accessible to disabled users; it is used by so many people without having to get into their cars; it is a lifeline for many elderly people; it offers so many services. The alternative branches will not replace any of the above. LISTEN TO US.
From Fiona Paterson on 05/03/08

I use the post office at 88 Goldhawk Road almost every day. I'm self-employed, and I rely on this branch for all my post requirements, as well as being able to get cash when I need it. The staff have never been anything other than wonderful. They feel like family. Closing this branch will have a major impact on my working life. In the past, if I've had to use the office at Shepherds Bush Green for any reason, I've never had to queue for less than 40 minutes and often for over an hour. The Uxbridge Road branch is a most inconvenient distance away. It will be a criminal waste of my time - time I can ill afford. 88 Goldhawk Road office is clearly a lifeline for a great many elderly and vulnerable people in our immediate neighbourhood. To close such a very necessary community facility would be wholly inappropriate and a very painful loss. I am unable to attend the meeting on 19th March as I have a business event that night, but I will make sure that I sign the petition at my local library.
From Deborah Pearce on 05/03/08

It has been with horror that I have read of post office closures, and now our local office is threatened. This will mean the queue at the main office on the Green will be even longer. I have waited up to 20 minutes or more to be served. There is also almost always a queue at 88 Goldhawk Rd. Is the PO a service for the user or is it a convenience for money making for those who are managing it from the top? I am disgusted by the lack of care by those who purport to run the 'service'.
From Camilla Broadbent on 05/03/08

It is unacceptable to close local branches. I frequently go to the local branch on Fulham Road to collect parcels which were delivered during the weekday, but could not fit in the letterbox. I can only go on Saturday mornings, as I am working all other weekdays. Thinking ahead, where would I need to go to collect these in the future? Up to Clapham or Central London? On Saturday mornings, at the Fulham Road office, there is always a huge queue (minimum 30-45 minutes) before being attended. By closing further branches, this will only make this waiting time worse. This is unacceptable. I really don't see how closing these branches is going to help improve the financial health of the Royal Mail. I am convinced there are other viable alternatives (revising opening hours, increase in the stamp costs, charging more those companies distributing leaflets that nobody reads, but cost a fortune in Royal Mail staff time for handling, etc). Also, the closure of the branches will definitively put me off using Royal Mail in the future. If they don't deliver a service when I need it, why should I pay for it? This will push people towards using more electronic means such as email, e-cards which will make the Royal Mail financial situation even worse. I hope this decision will be reconsidered by Mr Crozier.
From Stephane Xhayet on 05/03/08

Whilst taking into account that Royal Mail must become more efficient to reduce its financial deficit, it was established to provide a service to the community. This is now failing due to the recent closures of branches.   Whenever I go to a post office there are long queues. Old people cannot stand for hours to wait to be served and young mothers do not have the time. The post office not only handles post, it also provides information about the local area which is vital for local residents. Going to the back small corner of another shop/business is not the answer and cannot provide the required service the public needs. Please do not make any further closures.
From Barbara Cates on 05/03/08

I wish to protest at the closure of both my local post offices in Askew Road. There is a huge community around it ... this is not about a tiny post office in a remote rural area. We are an inner city borough and surely to goodness these post offices pay their way. Furthermore, we need to think about the needs of the elderly, the infirm and young families. Is there a petition we can sign to try and keep these post offices open?
From Celia Frayling on 02/03/08

I wish to protest against the closure of any more post offices. I already think it is madness not to have a main post office in Hammersmith Tube Station. The closure of local post offices is entirely wrong and absolute madness.
From Ann Crighton on 29/02/08

Closing more post offices in the borough will have two clear consequences. Firstly, more people will drive (some will have to, as they are unable to walk so far), and secondly, fewer people will use post offices for banking as they are no longer more conveniently located for customers than banks. The first will result in increased congestion (albeit higher parking revenue for the council), the second in a decision to close more post offices because they aren't making a profit. In the last five years I have never visited a post office where there isn't a queue of more than three people already in front of me - and more often than not this is as many as 10 or more (Hammersmith is the prime example - what a nightmare!). The loss of more post offices will make this worse - and again be a driver for people to avoid using them if at all possible. If this is a process towards closing all post offices (which is what it seems to be), could we be open about that?
From Dr Sharon Citrone on 28/02/08

We are not happy about the closure of the Starch Green Post Office, W12. We live in Gransden Road, and this is the only post office within walking distance and within our parking zone. Even then, it is a 10 minute walk. Our elderly neighbour can just about manage it. It gives her vital independence, which will be lost if this post office closes. How has your proposal anticipated these circumstances and what provisions have you made for elderly or disabled people in this area? We often have large packages to post and it is not feasible to trudge the 20 - 25 minute walk to the "nearby" alternatives that you propose. We will therefore have to use our car. This puts more pressure on the environment. It also puts pressure on already limited parking spaces, and paying for parking. Please advise what measures you have taken in respect of both environmental and additional parking requirements. Please can you advise how you will be managing the extra volume of customers at the proposed nearby branches (staffing, access, queues etc). We often encounter long queues at this little branch, so we are concerned that customers will be further inconvenienced by your proposal.
From Bridget & Rupert Trefgarne on 28/02/08

Enough is more than enough! This is what comes from regarding the Post Office as a business rather than a service. Why should the public be penalised? Who is ultimately paying for the Post Office? Use local post offices for additional financial services, be creative in thinking about adding value. Make them work instead of shutting up shop. Closing down post offices just to make the books balance is self-defeating, feeble and narrow-minded.
From Rosemary Pettit on 28/02/08

I live and work in Hammersmith and Fulham, and use 4 post offices regularly. Already the move of the main post office in Farm Lane seems to have been a failure, as everyone I know avoids the new one in the W H Smith‘s now because of the crowds. Our local, small post offices are friendly, welcoming places, people who know us and help us in our busy lives. Think about the local people, not ALWAYS the pounds and pence!!!
From Amanda Stocker on 27/02/08

I cannot make the protest meeting on the 19th, as I have to work, but I want to express my protest at the planned closure of the post offices in Hammersmith & Fulham. There are ALWAYS queues in every post office in my area (Shepherds Bush) and these last three weeks I've had to go several times, and I’ve waited over half an hour every time.  One lunchtime I waited for over an hour. If the one on Shepherds Bush Road gets closed, this will make things about twice as bad. For the huge number of people living in Shepherds Bush there would be only ONE post office, on the Green. We'll have to take leave days from work just to access post office services! It’s just a joke!! Also, one of the alternative offices they suggest we can go to instead, on Hammersmith Road, has already closed up, so it is not an option. They should check their information. There are few enough post offices as it is in an area that is so densely populated - we can't afford to lose any more.
From Alison Tsang on 27/02/08

I wish to add my name to your growing list of objectors to this gross culling of local post offices, particularly those in Hammersmith. I live in Rylett Crescent W12. I am a busy university professor, about to retire. I have found the local post offices in Askew Road particularly practical for my needs - also the staff are helpful, knowledgeable, fast and accurate. The main post offices are crowded, very impersonal and a long walk away. Local public transport is not very direct. I cannot understand the rationale of the total cutting of these local services around the Askew Road area. What facilities are left and where? I wonder whether the planners have actually looked at the distances and usages and needs. Each closure puts strain on those remaining and creates more congestion, as well as hardship for those that need to post packages or need forms etc. Please review your plans before you create a social disaster for the local person and destroy yet another piece of community.
From Richard Dawe on 27/02/08

I would like to express my strong opposition to the closure of both post offices on the Askew Road. I accept that it would be a reasonable rationalisation to close one, but we need to keep another for the following reasons: it is a densely populated residential area, about to become more so with the development of the Prestolite and Allied Carpet sites. There are many elderly and disabled people in the area who need the personal service of a local post office. Public transport to the next nearest one is not particularly good. In our overpriced area most couples both have to work full time and not having a post office nearby is just an added stress. I hope you will consider these points and reconsider your planned closures.
From Deborah Dawe on 27/02/08

I am writing to express my concern that my local Post Office at 780 Fulham Road is earmarked for closure. There is no other convenient Post Office close by, and it has given me great service over the past four years of living in Fulham.
From Dr Dhruv Patel on 24/02/08

Hammersmith Broadway Post Office

I have already complained to the Royal Mail and Postwatch. This Post Office is in a perfect position for everyone. Putting it at the back of beyond in a WHS store is completely unacceptable insanity!

This is a crazy and pointless idea. The current location is prime for both tube and bus arrivals, and people will often arrive at the post office via public transport as they already have to travel so far to reach the nearest post office. This post office has had to cope with serving the people whose local post offices were closed in recent years: North End Rd and Blythe Rd, so it is not exactly underused! As to relocating in WH Smith, I cannot imagine how this will work or how their staff will cope. Completely pointless exercise that will lead to the decline and eventual extinction of post offices in general, as no-one can get to them any more.

When post offices close in Hammersmith and Fulham it affects everyone.  If I need to take a parcel to post, I now need to take my car as it's too far to walk.  We add to the traffic congestion.  And because it's so far, it's outside my parking zone and I have to pay to park in my own Borough.  We still miss the main post office in North End Road, and another smaller one that used to be in Lillie Road.

It does not seem sensible to close the Post Office in Broadway and franchise it to WH Smith's.  Whenever I have tried to carry out business in the Broadway branch the queues there are very long and I have not been able to spare the time.   Surely a franchised branch should be opened in WH Smith's as well as keeping the Broadway office open?

I’m not quite sure where the Post Office want us all to go. We have had the closure of the main Post Office at West Kensington, the closure of the Post Office in Blythe Road and now this.   

This seems mad to me - Hammersmith Post Office has so many customers a day that the queue winds round the floor - luckily for those queuing the place is pretty well run and the queue moves reasonably fast. Are WH Smith customers going to have to reach through the Post Office queue for their pencils, books and DVDs? Additionally, I have noticed that there are often tourists at the Post Office. They want a Post Office - not a counter in a stationery store. My nearest Post Office used to be the one in Blythe Road. Since it was shut earlier this month I have used Hammersmith Post Office in preference to the new 'replacement' for the Blythe Road Post Office - a tiny corner of a CostCutters shop, where you have to queue for your stamps alongside breakfast cereals and frozen food. With Royal Mail's new system of categorising post - by size as well as weight - people more than ever need to go to a Post Office when they have something to send as many are by no means sure whether their letter is small or large or a packet. We need more Post Offices, not fewer. Please. 

I think it is about time the Post Office got rid of a few managers, the money could be saved and put into the Post Offices to keep them open: then our elderly people would not suffer. All because the management want to save a few pounds. 

It would be madness to close the Post Office at Hammersmith Broadway.   Demand is clearly high as queues are always very long.   Where is there space for such queues in WH Smith? They would be twice as long if there were half as many counters.   I can see no advantage whatsoever for customers.

I am disappointed to hear that the planned relocation of the Post Office is to go ahead despite strong local objection. Please note my own objection to relocation of a Post Office that is currently well located, truly accessible to disabled people and in an ideal location for residents and commuters.

I am sorry I won't be able to come to the public meeting on 20 September but I'd like my views to be known on this issue.   I have used the Broadway Post Office regularly for both personal and business use.   I have found the staff to be very polite and helpful. The facilities inside the office are extensive.   There is enough space there for wheelchair users and those with buggies (unlike some of the other Post Offices nearby example the one on King Street and on 100 Hammersmith Road)   Closing this Post Office will not only mean that disabled and other people have to walk further but also that they may not be able to use the other Post Offices due to their cramped spaces.   Please stop this closure. Thank you.

I am strongly against this. The Blythe Rd Post Office was recently closed, now the Post Office in the Broadway - the distance to the nearest main Post Office is now ridiculous. 

It seems utter madness to move the Post Office from a central location within the busy Broadway Centre with easy access to a shop further away with fewer counters and far bigger queues - why?

I am an ambulant disabled person who is a regular user of the Post Office in the Hammersmith Broadway. It's been a god send. Because of the opening times, because the whole centre is accessible, because it is so central, it means for the first time I have been able to pick up post, send parcels etc. The Sorting Office is not accessible to disabled people as there is no parking and there is a long walk down a solitary road. Having the option of having post redirected to the Broadway Post Office has enabled me to get my post. The Kings Mall is not accessible to me nor would it be to other people with mobility problems. The one way system in Hammersmith means that you can only get a bus one way to the Mall - how would Royal Mail propose I get home? Why move a great community service?

This Post Office is in the most perfect spot for locals, people passing through using the bus station, the tube stations, shops, offices. It is always busy -  it is clearly making money! There are always queues. But they want to get rid of fantastic staff who have been there for years and know the ropes. And, halve the number of counters! And - stick it in the back of WH Smith. Just think of the chaos in King's Mall around Christmas. It is insanity - not to forget, the extra kilometre (ie there and back) that many of the elderly and disabled will not be able to do. This whole thing is shameful! It has to be stopped.

Have the Post Office finally lost all their senses?! They have closed three Post Offices in the immediate vicinity already, forcing even more people to have to use the Broadway office. Even with 10 counter positions, most of which are usually open, the queue stretches back to the door and quite often out into the shopping precinct. A wait of 20 minutes is quite common. If they go ahead with their half-witted scheme, i.e. 5 counter positions in WH Smith, the queues will be out into King Street! Also has any one considered the effect that this may have on people shopping in WH Smith? I for one will not be going in there if I have to battle through dozens of people queuing to use the Post Office facilities, neither will I be using  the Post Office. I am fortunate that I am able to go elsewhere to use a Post Office, but many are not! Mothers with buggies, the elderly with shopping trolleys, the disabled, all will find this change a nightmare. The bonus of the present location of the Post Office is that it is well served by public transport, making it easy to get to and from. I sincerely hope you are able to reverse this stupid decision by the Post Office.

I am opposed to the move from the current location to the proposed one in WH Smith's, because I understand that there will be half the number of available positions.  There are already long queues so that the halving of staff available to help the public will mean unfeasibly long waits for everybody.  It is hard enough for the elderly and people with children, the disabled etc. to stand for ages waiting for their turn, the extra time may prove unbearable.  Where will these people go?    It would be better for the WH Smith's site to be in addition to the existing Post Office, not instead of it.

I returned home recently after weeks abroad travelling. I read to my dismay of the Post Office's plans to move the Hammersmith Post Office- and to reduce the service. I wish to strongly protest on the following grounds:1) we have infirm neighbours who would find it much more difficult to get to the new Post Office - and they are regular users. 2) The extra time spent getting to the Post Office AND in waiting in queues will add significantly to costs. 3) Whenever I use the Post Office currently there is always a queue.   Most frequently the queue stretches from the counter to the door.   Reducing the number of counters by 50% is frankly laughable. 4) I can see NO advantages at all in the planned move.   I would happily pay more for a good service than only have the option of suffering a poor service. 5) The volume of customers able to get to the new address will fall which will provide the Post Office with a reason to close our local service down altogether. WHY WHY WHY do they want to serve their customers so poorly?

I  must object to proposed move of the main post office from the Broadway Centre to WH Smith's. It is going to cause so much difficulty to the elderly who live in the Guinness Trust. This is a decision made purely for financial reasons. The Post Office has already closed most of our small branches. Please do not allow this injustice .

The location of Hammersmith Broadway Post Office is very central and easily accessible to everyone, it is ridiculous to move it somewhere where people find difficulty finding it and perhaps difficulty getting there if they are disabled. I realise that perhaps in modern times people do not use Royal Mail as much as they used to, but if Post offices are harder to find and more difficult to get to then people will find alternative ways of communication. Royal Mail will become even more obsolete.

Going to the Post Office is painful enough nowadays. Because of so many local Post Office closures, queues are getting longer and longer. Whilst queuing at Hammersmith Post Office the other day, I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that they wanted to close it and re-open in WH Smith, a third of a mile up the road!   I think this is a terrible idea.   The Post Office at the moment is in a central location, easy accessible to the disabled, elderly and those with children/pushchairs.   Please, please leave our Post Office alone!   If they want to open one in WH Smith as well as keeping the one in the Broadway Centre, GREAT.   Otherwise leave it where it is.

I am writing to express my regret regarding the proposed closure of Hammersmith Broadway Post Office. I live in the borough in Brook Green and I have seen over recent years a number of main and sub post offices ( including but not limited to Richmond Way Post Office, Blythe Road and Brackenbury Post office) closing notwithstanding the public’s opposition to those closures based on legitimate concerns. Yet our voice seldom seems to be heard in such consultations. In the event the Broadway Post Office is closed and relocated, as stated to WH Smith's in King Street, this will adversely affect users. Its current location serves both people who live and work in the area adequately, in particular with in respect to its disabled access. I ask that the proposal is reconsidered; that the voices of the users are heard on this occasion; and that common sense prevails. In addition I fail to see how such a busy (presumably profit-making) entity is considering making some of its staff redundant. 

It is inappropriate that Hammersmith, a business centre and the home of many multinational companies, is about to lose its Crown Post Office. Hammersmith is an important place and is said to have the second biggest travel interchange in London. The Broadway Post Office is always very busy and it is clearly ridiculous to consider a smaller facility. I hope this misguided decision to close the Post Office can be reversed. 

Having been away most of the summer I missed what was going on at the Post Office in Hammersmith until last week.  I have to say that on Wednesday I visited the post office in Hammersmith.  There were 5 counters open.  The queue of people when I arrived was 18 strong, even though it was 3pm in the afternoon, ie not necessarily a particularly busy time.  It took over 20 minutes before I reached the front of the queue, and when I counted the people behind me there were still 18.  On that basis, things do not look good for the move to WH Smith – at busy times the queue will be even longer, as will the wait.

I hope I am not too late to add my voice to the protests over closing the Hammersmith Broadway post office. I live in Brackenbury village, and remember very well the justification at the time of closing the Brackenbury branch was that there was an enormous branch just up the road. That branch is always crowded, the queues are terrible, and there are very few other options. It just seems as if the Postal Service does not really want to be in service at all. Thanks for highlighting this issue.

I think it is outrageous that the biggest post office in one of the busiest shopping centres in our area is being allowed to close - especially when you take into account other post office closures locally including North End Road.

I wish to protest at the proposed closure of the main post office at Hammersmith and its relocation to a stationers shop. Hammersmith Broadway is a very busy shopping centre and the current post office, in the centre of the underground complex, is extremely convenient. There are lots of tills and getting served never takes long. The service at the smaller post offices located in shops is generally dire. Such a plan merely serves to confirm my view that certain key services should not be privatised. The Post Office have sacrificed service in pursuit of so-called efficiency. All they will succeed in doing is to drive customers away.

I am absolutely furious about this.   The present post office is easily accessible because it is next to the tube and bus stations.   The King's Mall, where Royal Mail plan to move it, has limited opening hours and will be much more inconvenient to get to. Moreover, I often need to post things at the end of the evening, and the King's Mall will be shut then, preventing me from doing so.   This move will be a big problem for me because they have already closed the three post offices near my work. I am also extremely unhappy about the so-called consultation process by Royal Mail. I sent in a very detailed letter setting out my concerns, and in reply I received an all-purpose letter that was clearly sent to every objector.   My particular points were not addressed. It was evident that they had made their minds up long before and that the 'consultation' was a sham.

We told you what we thought of the closure of the post office situated in the Hammersmith Underground station. You ignored our wishes and went ahead anyway. Why should we believe that you would take our views about anything into account?  You promised to keep the postal boxes open at least; that hasn't happened either.  I am disgusted by the way we are being treated.

The post office in Hammersmith has already been moved to a less prime location on King Street (the Kings Mall), making the journey to the post office more difficult and time consuming.  Now, to me, if they close down my local office this is just like taxing us, without providing the essential basic service a local authority is supposed to give and I find this very disturbing.  Maybe the Council could enlighten us by giving us a detailed breakdown of exactly where our council tax goes to, in order to justify this cost cutting measure.  Frankly, I am not impressed with the amount of work the Council is doing.  All I see are cuts everywhere, cuts in services, cuts in expenditure, cuts in road maintenance (and roads around Hammersmith are absolutely poor)!

Farm Lane Post Office 

Many people are affected by closures in different ways.  The post office provides services above and beyond stamps, products and post, as any true service does, be it the health, police or transport services to name but a few.  These have been built up and paid for over the years with taxpayers’ money, but now the Government is unable to fund them, where is all the money going?  Who benefits from closures?  Nobody, by all accounts, but with a lot of crown offices closing, it will be interesting to see who ends up with these prime, central pieces of real estate, how much is paid for them, and where will that money go? 

I can't see how the tiny WH Smith on North End Road will cope with the traffic of Farm Lane Post Office. As a first time mum armed with a smallish buggy, I avoid that WH Smith like the plague, as it's difficult to get through the door and the aisles are so narrow. When I go to the post office, there are at least 3-4 other buggies in the queue, in addition to up to 10 other people - AND the wait is long.  The staff there are incredibly efficient and the office itself is roomy, with high ceilings, to accommodate the number of people comfortably. We live in a very stressful, fast-paced society – shouldn’t we be looking at making these kind of mundane chores easier and more streamlined, rather than harder and more stressful?   

I disagree with the proposed closure of the post office, for all the same reasons as in the flyer you sent round to households today.  Please do everything you can to keep it open!  

It needs to stay open.  I go in there every day at different times and there is always a queue.  Residents need and rely on this service!  Why not put a counter in WH Smith as well as keep this location?  

I agree that the current post office is very often busy and that any downsizing would lead to longer queues.  In addition, it's very important that we keep our local post offices, as they are a valuable resource, especially for the elderly who find it difficult to travel further afield.  

This is a totally foolhardy proposition. People dread going to the post office because of the time spent queuing. Many of services provided by counter-staff require specialist knowledge and are time-consuming to impart. WH Smith's is not a spacious shop and I cannot conceive how services offered by the post office can be catered for in such a confined space. I read in the local paper recently that protesting against this closure will make no difference as the decision has already been taken: why? I have nothing but praise for the staff and services of Farm Lane. Although I am an infrequent user, I would certainly be greatly inconvenienced by its closure, as would its regular customers.    

Simple: persuade Adam Crozier, CEO of the Post Office, to put services and communities first, BEFORE the corporate greed of shareholders/efficiency drives in what is a sorely needed community facility.  

I wish to protest strongly against the attempt to close Farm Lane Post Office. Closing this post office might please the Royal Mail’s accountants but it will make life immeasurably more difficult for the many H&F residents who use this location regularly. It will also blight the lives of those post office employees who will doubtlessly lose their livelihoods if this closure is allowed to take place. Could every effort please be made to do something positive for the borough and keep Farm Lane Post Office open. Thank you.  

I thought it was only post offices that were no longer viable that were being closed. This one is always busy and I have never been there without having to queue. To suggest replacing this with WH Smith is a cynical joke.  I wish to protest in the strongest fashion, although I know that nobody will listen.  Roll on the next election.   

I am appalled by this proposal.  The post office in this location is always busy and provides services (like refunds of prescription charges) not dealt with at other branches.  Our other nearest office (on the New King's Road) is cramped and impossible for people with disabilities - it is barely usable for many, even though the service is excellent. There is nowhere to fill in forms etc., which there is at Farm Lane. Moving the facility to a WH Smith’s will result in poorer service and more difficulties for all, as well as probably causing congestion on the North End Road.  Were the Farm Lane branch to be under-utilised I could understand the desire to close it, but this is not the case and this, therefore, smacks of an ill-considered proposal. I urge you to think again.   

This post office is a vital part of the community and seems always to be very busy with long queues. Moving this into the smaller WH Smith site will cause chaos in that shop, giving both shop and post office customers a much worse experience of both. Please keep the post office where it is.   

I am horrified to hear that the Farm Lane Post Office is closing.  There is always a long queue and WH Smith will be completely overcrowded.   

The Farm Lane Post Office should not be closed.  It is always very busy - where will all its customers go if it is shut?  Queues of over 20 people in the local WH Smith's will spill onto a narrow pavement.  Fulham has lost too many sub-post offices already.  Everyone will suffer - notably the old.   

I suspect the 'powers-that-be' at both the Post Office and WH Smith have never visited the sites they plan to amalgamate.  If they had, they would see they are trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot with this particular site.  WH Smith in North End Road carries a minimal stock of stationery product as it is - how do they seriously expect to fit in a busy post office counter as well?  It would make more sense that WH Smith moves into Farm Lane Post Office, if this has to go ahead.  I despair!   

It defies common sense to close a thriving and very busy post office which deals with much specialist business (passports and tax discs, to name a couple) that other PO's do not have the facility for.  It deals with far too many customers to squash it into WH Smith, which is small and stuffy and which will find its business swamped with queues for the PO if it does move.  PLEASE someone have some COMMON SENSE.   

I am most unhappy to hear of a planned closure of the Farm Lane Post Office.  It is unacceptable that there are so few post office facilities remaining in this neighbourhood.  The note says it is planned to move to a WH Smith, but to the best of my knowledge there is not a WH Smith in the area - certainly not within walking distance of my home or Fulham tube stations.  If this is what is going to happen to post offices, then I think the government needs to re-consider what services are performed at the post office.  Currently, that is the only place where I can conduct a great many services, not just posting letters.  In a world where we are all being encouraged to drive less, we seem to be creating an environment in which it is no longer possible to walk to conduct one's necessary affairs as there are continued closures of many services.  The post office is an essential part of life for a great many and it is unacceptable to me that an area the size of Fulham will not have a reasonable sized facility any longer.