‘There are two groups of victims in this scandal’: Campaigners hit out at Post Office over closures

By Claudia Lee and Shelby Brooks

Campaigners have hit out at the scandal-ridden Post Office for closing down one of the few remaining Crown post offices in South London.

The Clapham Common branch, in Clapham High Street, is set to close this year after the Post Office announced its lease had run out in 2023.

About 100 people from the area came together outside the depot on January 13 to protest against the closure.

Chris Windebank, 55, of Crescent Lane, Clapham, said the closure would require a round-trip of at least 40 minutes to access Post Office services elsewhere.

He said: “It needs to stay open to provide accessible postal and banking services to the community.”

Post Office said there were four alternative Post Offices independently run by sub post masters – Balham Hill, Cedars, Alfriston Road and Balham – which residents can use.

A Crown post office is a larger branch directly managed by Post Office Ltd. The Post Office has been offloading some larger branches through franchising or closure for nearly 30 years due to growing losses.

Despite only representing one per cent of the postal network, Crown post offices are responsible for 20 per cent of all Post Office business, as well as processing 40 per cent of financial services mail.

Communications Workers Union (CWU) executive Mole Meade, 61, from South-east London, has campaigned against the Clapham closure since the announcement was made.

He said: “Our communities are becoming postal deserts.

“It’s not just a couple of offices that are being shut – it’s complete mismanagement.

“If you are disabled, can’t use technology, can’t read English, need to collect benefits, the Crown post offices have services to help.

“When they are downgraded or shut what is left for these people? The community suffers, especially those who are disadvantaged.”

This comes as the Horizon scandal continues to unfold, following the recent airing of an ITV documentary.

The Post Office is trying to recoup mounting losses after it emerged in recent weeks that it claimed tax relief on compensation payouts.

In 2003 the Post Office – then run by Royal Mail – admitted it had paid senior managers performance bonuses for closing down 3,000 branches across the country, and in 2007 managing director Alan Cook was reported to be in line for a bonus of up to £1million if he managed to close 2,500 post offices on schedule.

Mr Meade said: “There are two groups of victims in this scandal. The sub post masters who are victims of heinous crimes and the communities who have been left without vital services.

“Post Office are so desperate for money they are leaving people with nothing.”

The last Crown post office in South-east London – the Sydenham Crown Post Office – was closed in November 2018. Later that year a Crown post office in Walworth Road was franchised before temporarily closing in March last year, leaving 40,000 people without a local post office, according to the Walworth Society.

Jeremy Leach, 53, chairman of the Walworth Society, said: “It’s a less affluent area and we have a lot of older people who are reliant on its services.

“When the franchise collapsed it coincided with our bank shutting. It hit home how quickly these things can disappear when they’re not protected. Without the post office people are unlikely to go to the high street so whole communities feel the effect.”

A Post Office spokeswoman said: “We opened a consultation with the local community on our plans to permanently close the Clapham Common site. This consultation recently closed and we are currently reviewing the responses.

“We have advertised the opportunity for one, or more, interested retailers to take on a post office in the area. It has always been the Post Office’s ambition to be a fully franchised network.”

Pictured top: Florence Eshalomi and Bell Ribeiro Addy at the protest on January 13 (Picture: Mole Meade)