Re: OT: Post Office Local

I see that there are now plans to roll out these new crippled "Post

> Office Locals" nationally following the "success" of the pilot scheme.

I'd like to actually have a Post Office at all.

JGH

Reply to
jgharston
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There's one in Epping going spare. It used to be a wonderful multi-window functioning Post Office, then it got closed down and the residue shoved into the back of Martin's newsagents. What a waste.

Reply to
Davey

In message , Davey writes

The point is that this "Post Office Local" is a new format of Post Offices that only appears to do what the old corner shop used to do - eg sell stamps - plus it may accept some parcels via the untrained (although pleasant and helpful) staff.

I'm not sure it's much better than having no Post Office.

We used to have a proper Post Office co-sited with the sorting office, with a bit of parking for when the parcels were really big. Now it's inside a coffee shop, the letter-sized post box is inside the shop, so you can't even post a letter there after the shop closes. That's the main post office, though. Here I'm ranting about this new crippled format that appears to be being snuck in as quietly as possible.

It isn't overly important, but it's yet another instance of facilities being reduced in the name of "efficiency" or, in old fashioned speak, "inept management".

Reply to
Bill

"Chasing profit" instead of "delivering service" maybe!

Reply to
Paul - xxx

or possibly "covering costs"

Reply to
charles

Nothing to stop you opening one in your little shop. All the Post Offices you see in corner shops are franchises. It'll cost you about eight grand to set it up, and then it's part of your business. And if you decide to close it because it loses you money, you do so.

Note that its the shopkeeper who decides that, not the Government or anyone else. That's why protests about "my local little PO closing" are so stupid.

It's also what Heseltine meant in the 90s during the fracas about "privatising the Post Office", when he said that most of the Post Office was already privatised - perfectly true because it is.

Reply to
Tim Streater

Did anyone hear this (The Last Post) on R4 last December?

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"CONsignia, what does it mean?" Classic!

Reply to
Part Timer

What is /supposed/ to happen is that the retiring subpostmaster advertises that they are retiring to give somebody else the opportunity to take over the franchise. What happened here is that the postmaster wanted to take the closing-down bribe from Post Offices HQ, so wouldn't allow anybody else to take over, even going as far as to convert his highly desirable corner shop into a house, ignoring the people wanting the shop.

JGH

Reply to
jgharston

When you say "supposed", who says? The Govt? The law? His contract with PO HQ? Convention?

Was he losing money? Was he living above the shop?

Reply to
Tim Streater

In a village next-door to our old village, the post-office (which was in fact the nearest one to us) was in these klods garage. You went up their driveway, and there it was. It was also a (very) small shop. I would expect that anyone can apply to open a PO, although I don't know the detail of how it works.

Reply to
Tim Streater

Ahem, bullshit. Sorry. A sub postmaster certainly does not have to do anything specific when he decides to give up running the business, except resign. Three months notice. A subbie who intends to continue living in the same area would probably be wise to be seen to make every effort to ensure continuation of service, but certainly doesn't have to do so.

There is no 'supposed to' about it. I'm a subbie, and I own the building in which my PO is situated. I can sell the building, lease it to someone who may do whatever he wants to with it, reincorporate it into my home, leave it empty or knock it down, with the usual permissions of course, but that is nothing to do with Post Office Limited.

Reply to
News

How far away is your nearest one? I have one 0.5 miles away, another 0.6 miles away and one 1.4 miles away.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.8 (for JGH) 0.5, 0.5, 0.9, and 1.2 for me

Owain

Reply to
Owain

another

HOW MANY!

1.0 (Sub), 2.6 (LDO), 3.1 (Sub) but they are as the crow flies distances, the first two will be about right as the road is straightish. For the third TomTom tells me 4.1 actual road distance and that would be at least 5.7 in winter as the road over the tops on the short route is frequently blocked by snow.

After that it is 7.9 miles (12.6 miles by road...) also assuming that road is open in the winter.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Two miles to my nearest sub-post office, just over five to the LDO.

Reply to
S Viemeister

Mine are 1.0(sub), 3.5(sub), 8.5 (LDO)

There is gamesmanship involved in the closing of post offices though. The ones that get closed are not necessarily those that do the least trade, but the ones that cost the Post Office most to keep open. (these can be subtly different in rural areas)

Reply to
Martin Brown

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