More than 1,000 people sign petition in a bid to save a PO

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More than 1,000 people sign petition in a bid to save a Norwich post office

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A community of Norwich residents has collected more than 1,000 signatures in a bid to save a city centre Post Office.

The petition, started by Penny Edwards of Cambridge Street, is calling for the Vauxhall Street branch to remain open in different premises on the same street.

It comes amid fears it could close permanently or be moved half-a-mile away from its current location.

Paul Neale, Green Party councillor for the nearby Town Close ward, has also backed the petition and has been helping to collect signatures. Mr Neale believes the current Suffolk Square location is the more appropriate site because of the number of people who regularly need access to its facilities and its provision of a cash machine.

He said: “We are sending a clear message from residents that its current site is ideal to serve their needs.”

Post Office Ltd invited other local businesses to take on the running of a Post Office. Two shops applied – Hurn Chemist on Unthank Road and Vauxhall Street Pharmacy on Suffolk Square. Mr Neale said: “I am concerned that if the Post Office moves to Unthank Road it will affect the other Post Office at Earlham House.”


He also accused Post Office Ltd of being “commercially driven rather than customer focused” and added that the Green Party would continue to help local campaigners.

A Post Office spokesman said it was looking for a new location for the Vauxhall Street Post Office as part of plans to modernise the Post Office network. He said: “Customers should be assured that we are committed to maintaining a Post Office service in the area and any change of location will be subject to a period of full public consultation.

“At the beginning of the six-week period of consultation we will outline our proposals to customers, elected representatives and interested parties. We welcome their feedback on our plans before we make a final decision.”

He said he believed the consultation process would begin within “the next few weeks” and that information would appear in the window of the Vauxhall Street Post Office soon. In 2010, the Norwich Evening News launched a Save our Post Offices campaign and more than 15,000 people signed our petition calling for Post Office bosses to think again. One of the branches we helped save was the Vauxhall Street Post Office, which is run by subpostmaster Malcolm Wright. Mr Wright said he did not want to comment at this stage of the process, but a Post Office spokesman confirmed that the plan for the premises was currently unclear.