Petition launched to save Wokingham’s Post Office

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to save Wokingham’s historic Post Office after plans to relocate it were announced last month.

On Saturday, members of Wokingham’s Labour Party were in Market Place to collect signatures for a petition to protect the Broad Street Post Office. Under the proposals, the branch would be closed and services moved into space in the Market Place WH Smith.

And in a separate development, Liberal Democrat campaigners have met with Post Office chiefs to lobby them to keep the popular branch open.

Labour said that it was running its petition in conjunction with a campaign organised by the Commercial Workers Union and is liaising closely with both the CWU and Post Office staff.

Norreys ward councillor Rachel Burgess said that the petition had been well received as residents are concerned over the loss of a cherished service.

Cllr Burgess said: “Many of my residents are horrified that we will lose this valuable community hub.

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“We are calling on John Redwood MP to write to the Post Office minister to scrap the decision.

“If the experience of other areas is anything to go by, the plan to franchise the Post Office services to WH Smith:

will result in longer queues and waiting times
will result in a less professional service as Post Office salaried staff are replaced by minimum wage workers
may cost tax payers money as typically redundancy payments or accessibility improvements to the WH Smith building may come from the tax payer.

“This will be yet another blow to Wokingham’s historic character.”

And Cllr Clive Jones, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in Wokingham has also been active in trying to protect the Broad Street Post Office.

He said that last week he met with the Post Office’s External Affairs Manager at its head office in London where he raised a number of issues.

Speaking to The Wokingham Paper, he said: “I was able to express concern that the current site is always busy when I go there, there are always queues and I didn’t think that WH Smith was a large enough alternative.

“I was told that the initial ideas which hadn’t yet been firmed up were for “broadly” the same services. The exact detail of which services will be available when the consultation begins in the New Year.”

Cllr Jones said that he wanted reassurances that the parcel collection service would remain with the Post Office and that there would continue to be easy access for disabled and partially sighted people.

He added: “The current agreement with WH Smith covers 74 Post Offices. This is only a outline agreement. It is possible that all 74 changes from Post Offices counters to WH Smith might not happen after local consultation.

“When the proposals are finalised there will be a public consultation, this is expected to start sometime in the new year. There will be a public meeting where everyone will have a chance to chat with post office staff about the proposed changes.”

And the borough’s Conservatives also want the town centre to retain its separate Post Office.

Cllr Philip Mirfin, executive member for Regeneration on Wokingham Borough Council, said: “I am surprised at this announcement in view of how busy Wokingham post office always is. When similar moves have been made elsewhere some mixed units have limited counters and therefore considerable difficulties in coping with demand.

“I support the retention of a Post Office, particularly in this growing retail environment in Wokingham town centre and will write to express these concerns to the Post Office’s counters business.”

Wokingham MP John Redwood told The Wokingham Paper that he had responded to the Post Office’s proposals.

Mr Redwood said: ‘I have asked the Post Office to explain their scheme. I will want to know what services and facilities will be available and how access will be assured. The present Post Office often has queues and can lack capacity. I will then respond to the Post Office consultation document.”

Labour said that its petition is available on its website and Facebook page.