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Anil Patel, postmaster at Crowndale Road post office, with customers Sarah Lockhart (left), Sharma Wadey and Stacey Spearman |
Postmaster shuts counter for last time and asks: Who will be next?
EVERY post office in the borough is under threat of closure unless the government takes radical action, according to the postmaster whose popular Somers Town branch was forced to shut this week.
Anil Patel served his last customer at lunchtime on Tuesday after running the Crowndale Road branch for eight years.
It was shut by the Post Office because of cost-cutting measures that have seen four branches in Camden close this month.
Mr Patel, whose branch ran at a profit and served more than 3,000 customers a week, said: “It is time now for the government to decide whether the Post Office is purely a business or an important community service.
“If it is a service, which I and my customers believe it is, it is time for them to forget the profit issue and offer subsidies to keep offices open.
“However, if the government and the Post Office say this is simply a business, then thousands more will close.”
He added: “I do not think policy-makers understand how important a post office is for a community, and the way that shutting us down affects our customers’ lives.”
Other post offices in Highgate Village, England’s Lane, Belsize Park, and South End Green, Hampstead, have shut in the past seven days as the Post Office seeks to stem losses estimated at £500,000 per day.
Mr Patel criticised the closure process, calling the six-week consultation period for customers a mockery. More than 2,000 Crowndale Road customers signed a petition and hundreds flooded the Post Office with letters of protest.
Customers queuing up to say goodbye on Mr Patel’s final day as postmaster – his shop remains open – included mother-of-one Stacey Spearman and her friends Sarah Lockhart and Sharma Wadey. Ms Spearman said: “I have been using this post office for years. It is a sad day and a real blow for Somers Town.”
Ms Lockhart added: “The closest other branch is in Camden High Street and there are always very big queues every time you go there.”
Ms Wadey feared the closure could hit other shops in the parade. She said: “Anil held this community together. He is a popular postmaster.”
Mr Patel said pensioners would be hardest hit by the closure.
He added: “They would come in for a chat and have a cup of tea while they got their pensions. I will miss everyone coming in each day. I really looked forward to a chat and a gossip.
“Older people have gone up to Camden High Street branch today and been told they can’t cash their pensions there because no one told the other branch we were shutting.
“It is typical of how poorly managed this whole scheme has been.”
Meanwhile, a bid by London Mayor Boris Johnson to seek a judicial review of post office closures across the capital has made no progress. High Court judges are believed to be considering the grounds that such a review would be acceptable.
Town Hall plans to offer post office services in libraries are still being worked on by officials and councillors. |
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