Saying goodbye to postal services in Hammersmith and Fulham

by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
30/06/2008

Residents in Hammersmith and Fulham been saying goodbye to post offices in the borough in the past few weeks – while the Royal Mail contemplates the future of two delivery depots in West Kensington and Shepherds Bush.

The first sub-post office to close on Tuesday June 17 was in Goldstrands Pharmacy at 780 Fulham Road, closely followed by 88 Goldhawk Road which now lies empty with a ‘For Let’ sign outside.

Suresh Patel finally closed his post office counter at his Askew Road shop last Tuesday (June 24) after months of uncertainty, saying that the post office simply wasn’t generating enough business to warrant keeping it open. He has been running the business for almost 40 years but is now thinking of selling up.

“Customers put money in their bank accounts and pay water bills, but there is simply not enough business. People use email now,” he said, adding that the final blow was a drop in customers wanting to buy stamps and send parcels.

And, to add insult to injury, all Mr Patel has to show for his decades of hard graft is a certificate signed by Alan Cook, managing director of Post Office Ltd, that reads: “Now that you are leaving the organisation may I offer you my best wishes for the future and say how much your services over more than 37 years have been much appreciated.”

Although these branches could not be saved from the axe, a hard-fought battle by residents and the council led to three post offices being given a last minute reprieve in May. 

Councillor Paul Bristow, cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “We knew the day would come when the post offices closed but it is still a great loss to the borough.

“Our residents still do not have the kind of postal services they deserve, and, while we could not keep these branches open, our fight goes on to house a post office at Barons Court Library.”

But now it seems that campaigners have another fight is on their hands, after Royal Mail confirmed it is looking at proposals to move two delivery offices out of the borough and relocate them to one single office in Brent, along with another four west London depots. 

Cllr Bristow wrote to Royal Mail following reports that both delivery offices on Silver Road, W12, and Blythe Road, W14, were earmarked for relocation. He called for assurances that residents would not have to leave the borough to collect parcels or missed deliveries.

In a letter dated June 13, Martine Munby, head of external relations for London, the south east and east of England, replies: “Royal Mail continues to look at proposals to re-site six delivery offices in west London into a purpose-built single unit in NW10. The proposals are based on the continuing review of our delivery network to ensure best service and efficiency for customers, as well as the provision of modern and suitable conditions for our people to work in.”

“The proposed move, which includes maintaining enquiry office facilities local to the delivery areas, will address these goals and tackle problems of space, sites being no longer fit for purpose and lease expiry at the offices under review.”

She goes on to say that a decision on these proposals will be made ‘later this year’ – which is thought to be sometime after September – but fails to answer any of the specific questions posed by the council. 

Ms Munby writes: “You ask a number of specific questions concerning future arrangements and some of these (e.g. enquiry office arrangements) have yet to be fully considered as we are still at a very early stage in looking at this proposal.”

However, Ms Munby does agree that any changes to the ‘delivery operation would only be carried out with full consideration of any impact on the local area and would be designed to improve mail services to customers.’

Cllr Bristow said: “I do not see how closing or moving any more services will help our residents but the Royal Mail has agreed to meet us to discuss the impact these changes will have on our residents, and keep us informed of any developments.”

The re-location could also lead to more mail trolleys, which are prone to vandalism and graffiti, being left unattended across the borough. They are a common sight in W14 since the area became the first postcode in London without a post office, when its final branch in the Costcutter shop on North End Road closed. The Post Office originally told residents that it was a ‘temporary closure’ but six months on, local customers still have nowhere to go.

Cllr Bristow added: “This borough has taken its fair share of blows when it comes to post office closures and we just want to know that our residents will be informed about decisions that ultimately affect them.