Another Post Office closure for Hammersmith and Fulham?

by Hammersmith and Fulham Press Office
17/06/2008

Hammersmith and Fulham Council is calling for an explanation from Royal Mail about plans to move two delivery offices out of the borough.

The council has learnt that Royal Mail is considering re-locating six of delivery offices to an existing depot in Park Royal, NW10. This would include moving the W12 delivery office in Silver Road which covers the Shepherds Bush area, and the West Kensington office in W14.

In a letter to the Royal Mail, Councillor Paul Bristow, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, asks for assurances that residents will not have to travel out of H&F to collect undelivered parcels. So far, the Post Office has remained tight-lipped about its plans.

Cllr Bristow said: “This news comes a month after three of our post offices, two of which are in Shepherds Bush, were given the axe. Services are being cut back in areas where residents have already been hit hard, and that is why we are asking Royal Mail and Post Office officials to explain their plans.

“We want to know if they have examined the impact this would have on postal services across Hammersmith and Fulham, and what it would mean for our residents.  We will not accept changes that will lead to deterioration in service levels for our residents.”

It is not yet clear if residents will still be able to collect their missed deliveries from offices in W12 and W14.

The re-location could also lead to more Post Office 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 almost six months on, local customers still have nowhere to go.

The remarkable victory in saving three of the borough’s post offices from the chop last month has bouyed the council, which is still in talks with Post Office bosses about bringing back a branch to W14 at Baron’s Court Library.

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.”

See Hot Topics: sorting office closures for ways to have your say.