Double Blow To Chiswick Post Office Services

Collection office to be relocated and Grove Park to lose a sub-post office

Chiswick users of local postal services received a double blow this week with the news that two local post office services are set to be withdrawn.

The Royal Mail is considering relocating the Enquiries and Collection office beside the main post office to Bollo Lane, Acton.

The management has started discussions with the Communications Workers Union (CWU) on the move and says it is part of the Royal Mail's ongoing transformation to increase efficiency and provide delivery offices that are fit for purpose and that no compulsory redundancies will result.

They say, "There would be no impact on deliveries to our customers. The proposed new location, at Acton delivery office, has sufficient space for our Chiswick delivery operations.

"The postmen and women who work in Chiswick delivery office would continue to serve the local community, delivering a high quality service to our customers.

"Royal Mail can now leave many mail items with a neighbour if customers are not at home when we attempt delivery. Customers can nominate a dedicated neighbour to take in their parcels by filling in a form at their delivery office."

Customers can also arrange a redelivery free of charge on a day that is convenient for them (including Saturdays), or Royal Mail can deliver the item to a different address within the same postcode area. This service can be arranged by calling the number on the “Something for You” card they leave or by visiting the Royal Mail website.

Kevin Callus-Dugard, a postman and C.W.U. union rep for the Chiswick delivery office said, "This is a move that neither Chiswick or Acton want. Services will not be improved as stated and jobs will be lost. We need as many people as possible in Chiswick to register their displeasure at the proposed closure."

He urged people to contact the Royal Mail Customer Services Team on 03457 740 740.

This Acton office is open longer than the existing office in Chiswick.

The second blow to local residents is that the arrival of a Co-op convenience store replacing the Nisa corner convenience shop at Station Parade (opposite the Chiswick train station) appears likely to mean the demise of the sub-post office currently located at the rear of the shop.

The nearest access to local residents to postal services will be the main post office at Heathfield Terrace, or they can go to Strand on the Green where Mrs. Joshi is still running the sub-post office. That branch was targeted for closure some years ago but fought a campaign to stay open.

Co-op was granted planning permission this July to expand the current corner shop and post office into the former restaurant (Grove Park Tandoori) next door to open a larger grocery store.

A planning application requested the erection of a single storey rear extension to both numbers 5 and 6 Station Parade following amalgamation of both units, together with a new shopfront.

The two shops involved are the former Indian restaurant, at number 5, and the current post-office and shop on the corner which is number 6.

We have asked Co-op head office in Manchester if this means the end to the sub-post office and will report back when they reply.

However local customers have been told that the sub-post office will definitely be closing.

There are more than 17,500 post offices in the UK, which are visited by 28 million people every week. Last year nearly forty Crown post offices were closed and there has been a move by the head office to close down sub-post offices. An estimated 3,000 sub-post offices (one third of the overall network) are scheduled to close.

The massive increase in electronic communications and huge drops in mail volumes means traditional postal business is threatened. Postal operators across the world are restructuring and looking at alternative sources of income to try to ensure their survival.

The post office network is losing an estimated £100 million a year on total sales of £1.2 billion.

October 12, 2017