Post office users outside the Kilburn branch

A PETITION which has been signed by more than 600 people is urging the interim chief executive of the Post Office to abandon plans to close the branch in Kilburn High Road.

The branch – on the border of the borough of Camden – could be shut as part of a national shake-up announced in November by the Post Office, with 32 branches across London on a list of possible closures.

Other branches at risk in Camden are Hampstead High Street, and due to the closure of WHSmith stores, Swiss Cottage post office could also be at risk of closure if a replacement is not found to fill the shop.

While some franchises are run by individual postmasters, the Kilburn High Road branch is part of a portfolio owned by the state-owned Post Office business.

The company, now under new leadership, is looking for other operators to take on the branches, otherwise they could close.

Local residents have started a petition which now has 603 signatures – aiming to reach 1,000 – to urge MP Gareth Thomas and Nigel Railton, interim CEO of the Post Office Ltd, to abandon plans to close what they insist is a community asset.

Ruth Lawrence, who lives nearby, said: “My mum is 81 and I have always thought of situations from elderly people’s perspective and there is a whole generation that are totally disenfranchised from modern society. There are a load of elderly people like my mum that will massively suffer if the post office closes.

“There are still people who go to that post office and they queue up on a Monday or Thursday at 9am to get their pensions and it’s like it’s 1975 still. Those people will never get online, so it will be really hard for them. It’s a community space. A Crown Post Office like that, particularly when lots of smaller post offices are closing around it, that’s a community asset.”

She added: “I’ve been fuming about this for a little while now, and I saw the petition in November and I saw it wasn’t going up in signatures and I was really disappointed. And a few times when I’ve been up there the queue would be going out the door and I’d say to people in the queue that the Post Office plans to shut this branch and people are totally shocked.

“The staff are also so helpful. They’re real old-school and they are very patient with customers. There are always people on the tills which is great and it’s very unusual for it to be like that these days.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “Post Office has launched a new, five-year Transformation Plan that will deliver a New Deal for postmasters, putting them at the heart of the business. To realise the plan, the Post Office is considering a range of initiatives to boost revenue, drive efficiency and reduce costs. As part of this process, we are considering the future of our Directly Managed Branches (DMBs), which are loss-making. However, no decisions have been made on any DMBs.

“We invited expressions of interest to operate Post Offices in all remaining DMB locations, including for Kilburn High Road and Hampstead, to gauge market interest and explore whether franchising could be a viable option. We will review all responses, sharing the results with relevant trade unions and other stakeholders.

“We want to ensure that we make the best decisions for the future of each of our DMBs, helping to strengthen the network for the benefit of customers and postmasters.

“The operator for Swiss Cottage Post Office has resigned as WHSmith has made the difficult decision to close the store where the branch is based on Saturday 12 April at 12 noon.

“The vacancy has been advertised and we have interest expressed from many retailers and we are looking at the options available as we know how important a post office is to a community.”