Wokingham Post Office

Yesterday again in Wokingham the Post Office was busy, demonstrating insufficient counters and the need to open up the other part of the current building to provide more service. Instead the plans to close it and slim it down in W H Smith continues as if this demand did not exist.

I at last have a meeting with the Minister to put the case against closure again to the government. On Tuesday I will meet her at the Department. I will take that opportunity to present the Petition against closure. I thank the local Labour party who did a lot of the work organising it and collecting signatures during inclement weather in the Town Centre, and to the Conservative Councillors who also supported it.

The petition has over 6000 signatures. It says

“We oppose the plan to close Wokingham Post Office and to franchise the service to WH Smith. The move will damage the provision of services to customers, with a less accessible building, longer queues and waiting times, the loss of experienced staff and will be another blow to Wokingham’s historic character”.

I will explain to the Minister my own views of the problems this plan causes, and set it in the context of an expanding town with more demand for services from the new residents who will soon be moving in.

5 Comments

  1. Alan Jutson
    May 5, 2019

    If the sorting office behind the counters are to remain, what on earth is the point of moving the front counters to a smaller establishment.

    Do they have future plans for the whole site ?

    Looks like another clown in charge who does not understand Wokingham is growing massively over the next 10 years, and that home and parcel delivery is also a growing business.

    I wish you well John with your discussions, because they have so far taken no notice of the c0nsultation document completed by many of us locals.

  2. Everhopeful
    May 5, 2019

    Good luck!
    No petitions ever worked here.
    No proper Post Offices here now!

  3. Narrow Shoulders
    May 5, 2019

    Busy one day per week is hardly sweating the asset Sir John.

    Our relatively busy Post Office moved to WhSmith with no loss of service.

    The Post Office have not managed to sell the previous space.

    1. Fred H
      May 9, 2019

      I’m told by my friends, who meet in a volunteering capacity some distance away from Wokingham, that this seems to be a general policy of the Post Office. Reading, Maidenhead, Didcot (I think) all appear to be in the process of moving out of existing premises.

  4. John P McDonald
    May 5, 2019

    One has to ask the question- what is the justification given by the Post Office for closing the Post Office in Wokingham? Like most things, Capitalism can be taken to far. Life should not be about making the maximum profit. A reasonable profit should suffice if it benefits the local community. Some things should be run for the benefit of all not just the shareholders and the Directors’ bonus. Some things should be funded from capitalism taxed fairly in the public interest. If the Post Office was still in public ownership would we be having this discussion ? Should we out-source Parliament ?

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