London loses a third of its post offices in 3 years

ALMOST a third of London’s post offices have closed in the past three years, figures show today.

There were more than 1,200 in the financial year 20012 but three years later there were only 867 – a loss 28 per cent.

ALMOST a third of London’s post offices have closed in the past three years, figures show today.

Today, campaigners said local communities were being hit hard by the loss of their local services and called on the Government to intervene.

Lynne Featherstone MP, London spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats, said: “The future for London post offices looks gloomy. It is time the Government realises the seriousness of this problem. It needs to come up with concrete plans to provide for the long-term future of Royal Mail.”

The figures were obtained by Ms Featherstone from the Post Office.

They show that the number of offices – both main post offices and subpost offices – fell in almost every constituency since 2002.

In Putney, the number of offices dropped from 16 to 10. In Hampstead and Highgate, the number fell from 10 to five, while in Feltham and Heston a total of 18 offices shrank to nine.

The Post Office said that only lossmaking – and by definition little-used – branches had been closed under its “urban network reinvention scheme”.

It said fewer people used post offices and many branches were simply obsolete. But it said that the main programme of closures was complete.

“The whole network remains very accessible to customers, with over 860 branches in the capital and 99 per cent of Londoners living within a mile of their nearest branch,” a spokesman said. “We do an audit every six months on the number of branches, and in the period of April to September only one branch closed. London has largely stabilised since the scheme ended.”

Terry Stafford, of watchdog Postwatch, said Londoners had been “hit hard” by the closures. He said: “The network has been losing money, so it’s important to note that many offices were closing before, but the effectiveness of this programme remains to be seen. If the Post Office has made the right decisions, then surviving offices should experience the benefit of migrating custom.”

Putting up a good fight FAMOUS names including Ruby Wax, author Helen Fielding, musician Damon Albarn and Angela Rippon joined more than 8,000 people who signed a petition to save the post office at 224 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill.

Despite taking the case to the High Court, their cause failed and the office closed in November 2004.