Streatham shops in crisis after post office axe

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LINK

Struggling shops in Streatham High Road have seen their trade fall by up to 75 per cent since the road's post office was axed five months ago.

Owners of businesses next to the site of the former Streatham Post Office, which shut last November with its services transferred to the nearby WHSmith, have complained about poor sales and few customers since the branch closed.

They say the section of the high road is much quieter now with fewer customers passing through.

Sartazali Kara who owns clothes shop Kara, next door to where the post office was, said his business is down by 75 per cent. "Now the post office is gone business is dead," said Mr Kara, who bought the store in 1976. "Few people come to this part of the road now."

And George Howard, owner of Kente coffee shop says his takings are down by a third. "People used to come to the post office to do all sorts of things," he said. "They used to step by for a coffee before or after getting their jobs at the post office done.

"But now there's nothing to do at this end of the road, so people don't bother coming down here."

awrence Clark, from the Trinity Hospice charity shop, said all the stores in the area had the same problem. He said the shop's takings had fallen by nearly £400 a week since the post office closed. "We've got to work much harder to get donations," he said.

He thought residents were not happy with the new service at WHSmith and said they complained about inefficient staff, queues and access for people in wheelchairs.

"It's definitely had a detrimental effect on the area," he added.

Streatham's Liberal Democrat spokesman, Chris Nicholson, said the negative effect on local businesses was one of the issues raised during campaigns to stop the branch closing took place last year. "The closure of post offices is killing shopping parades," he said. "There isn't sufficient recognition of the role post offices play in the community."

A WHSmith spokeswoman said customer feedback has been positive since services were transferred to the store.

[F0zziebear]

Whilst I have an emotional attachment to this area and understand the reasons cited, you cannot expect Post Office Ltd to act as the local CBI. If you do then we all need to contribute more taxes and see that POL is a loss making enterprise in many instances, but the wider benefits are there to be had.

Complaining at the likes of Crozier etc... about the closures is unfair on the grounds that they need to ensure the business is not loss making. They have specific instructions from their sole shareholder the government to run it as a business. It is subsidised heavily already by both taxes and filtering of money from Royal Mail Letters, though this would not be proven in court.

Streatham High Road has suffered for a long time as the high road becomes more congested and less accessible for shopping, as is the case with many high streets which are now nothing more than glorified dual-carrigeways.

No-one in the above article mentions that there is a significant economoic downturn happenign before our eyes, and to blame this purely on POL is naive.

As per-usual individuals and businesses only see the world through their own eyes and approach it from what's in it for me. Are these the same people who are willing to vote for political parties who openly talk about higher taxes. No!

[DirtyHarry]

Aaahhh, progress, British style, where would we be without it? (A bloody sight better off)