Hampstead Post Office

A LETTER signed by over 35 residents, businesses and stakeholders in the Hampstead area demands that their post office stay for good after concerns have arisen over its closure.

In an open letter by the Heath and Hampstead Society, and signed by Tulip Siddiq MP and local councillors, concerns are raised about the potential closure of the Hampstead post office branch.

The letter asks that Gareth Thomas MP and Nigel Railton, interim CEO of the Post Office, reconsider plans over its closure and that essential services provided by the branch be maintained in the community.

Marc Hutchinson, chair of The Heath & Hampstead Society, said: “Whoever we approached agreed to sign the letter and there was no one who didn’t want to sign. That shows the real depth of anxiety that everyone has about losing their post office facility.

“In particular, the Hampstead post office is a full service office – it provides the full range of postal and even banking services as well. You can deposit cheques there, for example, for your bank account, and so to lose all of that in circumstances where other post offices nearby are also either threatened with closure or are definitely closing, would be extremely harmful. Particularly for people who use the post or who can’t do everything online.

“There are plenty of elderly people in Hampstead who rely on that post office, as well as businesses that need a post office counter. It’s quite a big post office, around seven or eight counters, but still there are always people queuing in the street to get their business done, so it is extremely popular.

“The high street has changed, I’m afraid, not for the better in terms of the interests of local residents, the high street has changed for the worst, because it is now increasingly full of franchised clothes shops and nail bars.

“The shops there now are not owned by local people. They’re part of chains, and they have no invested interest in the community the same way local shops would be.”

The Hampstead post office could be shut as part of a national shake-up of the service with 32 branches across London on a list of possible closure, including Kilburn High Road post office on the border with Camden.

The Swiss Cottage post office may also be at risk of closure if no replacement can be found after the closure of WHSmith.

While some franchises are already run by individual postmasters, the Hampstead High Street branch is part of the portfolio owned by the state-owned Post Office business.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “No decision has been made about any Directly Managed Post Office branch including Hampstead.

“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.

“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 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.”