Post Office Ltd announces plan for London
Post Office Ltd today (February 19) opened a six week local public consultation on its Area Plan for London. In line with the criteria and factors set by the Government in its response document, DTI The Post Office Network, Government Response to Public Consultation May 2007 (www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page36024.html) the Area Plan proposes future provision of Post Office® services through a network of 681 branches across the area, resulting in the closure of 169 branches.
Under the proposals more than 7 million London residents will either see no change to their nearest branch or will remain within one mile (by road distance) of an alternative branch.
The Government has already undertaken a 12-week national consultation before reaching a decision to reduce the UK wide network of Post Office® branches by up to 2,500 from its current level of over 14,000 while continuing to provide funding to support a more sustainable network in the future. The proposals now published support the national accessibility criteria introduced by the Government.
Anita Turner, Post Office Ltd’s Network Development Manager for London, said: "Taking the decision to close any Post Office® branch is always very difficult and we know it will cause concern to many of our customers. We want to ensure that everyone who uses, relies on or has any concern with Post Office® services is both fully aware of the proposed changes and able to give views on them.
"Post Office Ltd’s aim is to continue to provide essential services and support retail businesses and the local economy in as many communities as possible, subject to the minimum access criteria set by the Government.
"We believe these proposals offer the best prospect for a sustainable way forward for Post Office® services in London bearing in mind the minimum access criteria and the other factors to which we have to have regard."
Under the area plan proposals 89.4 per cent of the area’s population will see no change in their nearest branch. A further 10.6 per cent live less than one mile by road distance from the nearest alternative branch, with 5.9 per cent within half a mile.
Post Office Ltd has reached these proposals after engaging with and taking input from the independent consumer watchdog on postal services, Postwatch, and from local authorities within the area, and has considered factors relating to geography, the availability of local transport and alternative access to key Post Office® services, local demographics and the impact on local economies. Views on all these factors are welcomed during the consultation process.
Crown Post Office® Network in London
On January 8, 2008 Post Office Ltd announced the start of public consultation for proposals to close Essex Road (N1) and Ludgate Circus (New Bridge Street EC4) Crown Post Office® branches. This consultation is being run alongside the Network Change Programme, which is a separate part of the strategy for the future of Post Office® branches and does not apply to Crown Post Office® branches.
Post Office Ltd is considering the future of Essex Road and Ludgate Circus Crown Post Office® branches alongside the Network Change Programme proposals to ensure that service provision for customers in the areas is looked at as a whole. So the consultation periods will end on the same date and all responses will then be considered before final decisions are made. There are currently 106 Crown Post Office® branches in London and a further 15 flagship branches located in WHSmith with one still in consultation. Post Office Ltd expects to separately franchise the following Crown Post Office® branches in London: Tottenham Post Office®, 824 High Road London N17 0EZ; East Acton Post Office®, 71 Old Oak Common Lane, London W3 7DH; Borough Post Office®, 239 Borough High Street, London SE1 1AE and Maida Hill Post Office®, 377 Harrow Road, London W9 3ND. This would be subject to a separate public consultation.
