Post Offices to close: council should now step in

Despite informing us that they would not be making a decision on their closure programme until the middle of June, eight weeks after the end of their consultation process, the Post Office yesterday rushed out its decision after barely four weeks' reflection.

It is extremely disappointing that neither of the Putney branches our community has fought so hard to save have been given a reprieve by Post Office Ltd, and so the existing branch in Upper Richmond Road (which is so unsatisfactory as it is) will become our only branch between Putney Hill and and the Thames.

There remains one last chance to save at least one of our two valuable and valued local Post Offices, and that is for the council to now step in and seriously investigate taking over the operation of these branches. The council has been vocal in its campaign - but now it needs to do more than just complain: it needs to act.

As Essex County Council and Cambridge City Council have shown by taking over branches in their areas and combining services they provide with postal facilities, this is a practical and demonstrably achievable outcome. There is, for example, a council parking shop in Lower Richmond Road about 100 metres from the post office. There is surely no reason why the services the parking shop offers, along with the ability to pay council tax and rent and all the other transactions we have with the council cannot be merged to keep this busy and popular local branch open.

I am - again - dismayed at the thoroughly unprofessional way the Post Office has sprung its decision upon us. It shows a distinct lack of courtesy to the hundreds and hundreds of us who took the trouble to give them our views who had to learn of this via yesterday's Evening Standard or BBC London News. The rush to get a decision out in half the time they said they would take suggests the most cursory lip-service was given to our representations. The entire consultation process has been governed by a complete lack of transparency.

By announcing the reprieve of a couple of branches close to us - one in Fulham and one in Wimbledon, the Post Office will no doubt claim that it has listened and responded. I disagree.

You can download the Post Office decision booklet which gives a cursory paragraph or two to each of its closure decisions. I'll write more about what I think of their arguments in a subsequent post.