Petition to save Sydenham post office reaches No 10

Campaigners delivered a petition to Number 10 Downing Street in a bid to save the last Crown Post Office in a South-east London borough.

The Save Sydenham Crown Post Office petition, which had about 1,000 signatures, was delivered to Theresa May on Thursday, April 26. The Post Office consulted on the idea of closing the branch in Sydenham Road last year.

Pat Trembath, of the Sydenham Society, said: “The Crown Post Office is a vital part of a vibrant high street.

It serves a wider community as the only Crown Post Office in the borough and this drastic cut will be a blow for the community.”

Councillor Alan Hall said: “Closure means there will be no Crown Post Offices in Lewisham and the loss of a full range of services for our residents.”

A spokeswoman for the Post Office said: “The vast majority of our 11,500 post office branches, large and small, are operated on a franchise or agency basis within retailers. It is a successful model.

“Partnering with retailers to offer post offices combined with shops ensures that services remain at the heart of communities and high streets and frequently enables us to extend opening hours.

“No final decisions have been announced for Sydenham Post Office but we announced in 2016 that we were looking at potentially franchising to ensure its future sustainability and we held a six-week public consultation last year on plans for a new franchise branch at the same site and with extended opening hours.”