I was at the Broadfield shops this morning, picking up a few emergency groceries, and while I was there I was told that the Post Office is going to close soon. The reasons are not clear, although someone did say it was because the PO could not guarantee the security of the place.

Now that nearly every shop sells stamps, pensions and benefits can be credited directly to bank accounts and many other traditional Post Office transactions can be done easily online or by post, there should be little need for a Post Offices any more, but such closures always cause a lot of uproar, and this one will be no different.

Although most routine business should be done electronically now, there are still plenty of people who, for whatever reason, prefer to go to a counter and buy their stamps or whatever, and there are still some things which you do have to go in for – weighing parcels for postage for one thing. While I can see that the level of residual work might not be enough to support some sub-offices, its still going to be a real inconvenience for people to have to go into the main Post Office in the town centre every time they want to send a parcel. (With the growth of eBay is this going to be a growth area?)

Already there is talk of petitions being drawn up, but I’m not sure who they can be addressed to. The Post Office is part of a shop, and if the shop itself is closing, how can the PO continue? Over the last couple of years the Somerfield supermarket and the Wavy Line/Spar-type shop have been upgraded and re-vamped. Nearly everything that the newsagent sold was available in one of these shops, and in a better environment. I can understand how the newsagent is finding survival difficult, even after being bought up by the Co-op. There was talk of the Co-op turning the shop into a mini-supermarket, but with three food shops in a small arcade, I’m not sure how feasible that would have been. The best chance for the parade is probably for the mini-mart or Somerfields to take over the Post Office functions.

Near my office in Southwark there is a great example of how this can work. Its a Spar shop where the counters can be used for either shop or Post Office functions. With the two functions being more integrated, it seems a lot more viable.

I’m sure this one will run and run.