Protest held outside Grantham post office against plans to move services to WHSmith

Members of the Grantham Labour Party collected signatures on Saturday for a petition against the proposed closure of Grantham post office.

Members gathered outside the post office in St Peter's Hill in protest at plans to relocate services to WHSmith in June.

John Morgan, secretary of Grantham Labour Party, said: "The Post Office wants to close Grantham post office and put it at the back of WHSmiths. This will mean fewer counters and longer queues, but less space for people queueing to actually stand. They also want to make the current, experienced staff redundant, and take on new people, on minimum wage. This means that you will be served by people who know less about the service that they provide."

Labour councillor, and former Post Office employee, Charmaine Morgan added: "We got an excellent response, and most people signed the petition. But its not just Grantham. The Post Office are cutting 74 branches up and down the country, in this way. That is why we are supporting a national campaign organised by the Communication Workers' Union (CWU), using their petition."

WHSmith currently runs 135 post offices within their high street stores throughout the country. Under the new agreement up to a further 40 are planned to be relocated into stores in 2019.

When the Post Office announced its plans, its network and sales director Roger Gale said: “WHSmith and Post Office have worked together successfully for more than a decade and our collaboration helps to secure our services on high streets for years to come.

“We’re continuing to respond to unprecedented change on high streets and in consumer trends. By adapting to the needs of customers we’re making sure Post Offices will matter as much tomorrow as they do today, with services available when and where people want them, in convenient locations and open for longer hours, including Sundays."

The Post Office will be holding a ‘drop-in session’ as part of its consultation on the proposal to close the Grantham branch.

The forum will be held on Wednesday, February 20, at the Jubilee Church Life Centre, 5 London Road, Grantham, from 3pm to 7pm, with people welcome to attend at any point between those times.