Green Councillors for Brunswick and Adelaide ward raise concerns over announcements that a post office on Western Road will remain closed.
Councillors Hannah Clare and Phélim Mac Cafferty have raised more concerns over the continued absence of a post office on Western Road, Hove after a recent letter from Post Office Ltd that claims they are “unable to restore a service locally”.
This follows a 2015 decision to close the crown Post Office on Western Road on the grounds that the branch was “no longer commercially sustainable” . The Post office then closed in 2016, in spite of a campaign of residents, politicians and businesses, which amassed a petition with over 5,400 signatures .
A year after the closure, the Post Office installed a new branch in a newsagent, located only a few doors down from the closed Crown Post Office, but it later closed in 2019.
Green Councillors have claimed the recent letter is “another blow to our community” but have pledged to continue to campaign for the return of a service.
Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, ward councillor for Brunswick and Adelaide said:
“We have been troubled by the lack of communication from the Post Office to both councillors and residents and this announcement comes as yet another blow to the community.This is but the latest saga in the appalling treatment of the community from Post Office Ltd.
“In 2016, Post Office Ltd made the penny-pinching decision to close the well-used and much-loved Crown post office, with a fake argument that there was no market for a post office and the fantasy that Churchill Square would take the slack. Green councillors alongside the community always maintained the post office was viable but that was rubbished.
“Then in 2018, the post office was brought back literally a few yards from where it was. Then in May last year they decided to close it again. Despite this further disappointment, Green Councillors will continue to campaign for local services to remain in our area.”
Councillor Hannah Clare, who also represents Brunswick and Adelaide ward commented:
“The last few months have shown how important it is to have local services, like post offices, that are accessible to all members of the community.
“In light of the pandemic, residents have hugely valued local shops and services and we have to do all we can to continue to fight for our local shopping areas, like that in Brunswick Town.
“Even though the most recent branch was no little match for a Crown Post office in terms of the services it provided, it still provided a vital community asset that is thoroughly missed.
“It is a shame that the Post office has essentially abandoned all hope of Brunswick residents having an effective Post office return to the area.”