Cllr Michael Hoy writes:
…..received a letter from the Post Office saying the Hullbridge Post Office, at Budgens in Ferry Road, is to be closed from 17 October 2012. This comes just a year after the village Sub Post Office was closed and a years trial begun of the new style Post Office at Budgens with a reduced service.
More details here
A Post Office is at the heart of a community, like the local shop & pub. What happens when they close? The community suffers. I have been told that The Grange Post Office, on London Rd Rayleigh, is also due to close.If this is true, it will have a huge impact on the other shops & the community it serves. The nearest PO will then be Hambro Parade or Rayleigh town. When people use these they will take their custom for other goods too.
Do the local Councillors know any more about this? If it is a possibility is it too late to appeal to the powers that be?
What impact has the Tesco Express had on this decision if any?
The Hullbridge post office could not have been that important to local people otherwise they would have used it. It’s the same old story when local services close, people bemoan their passing but never actually use them. Why go to the pub and pay approx £7.00 for two drinks when you can go to the supermarket and get a bottle of wine, 4 cans & a bag of crisps for less….and you don’t have to get a cab…
Janet – why would Tesco Express have affected any decision on whether or not to close a post office?
I don’t know, I’m just asking the question. The PO is in the Newsagents & part of the same family business.
It has served the community well & would be a great loss to this part of Rayleigh.
Janet, it’s not my patch but the ward councillors there certainly know the importance of the post office and it would be a great loss.
I’ve heard conflicting things about the future of the Grange business. There may be negotiations going on between the sub-postmaster and the Post Office – but I wouldn’t be privy to that information. I’ve not heard of any new planning applications or anything like that.
Thanks Chris, that’s reassuring. I was told by a reliable source that there is an application put forward for the shop to be an Indian Takeaway (?), & definitely no replacement PO!
I was keen to alert people to the situation.
Well, I did hear a rumour , but I’ve not seen an application yet…. (have checked again today on the council website)
Thanks Chris, this needs monitoring very closely otherwise something could sneek in & catch us unawares!
Janet – Thanks for the clarification. I was reading something the other day about Tesco’s and Morrisions sometimes offering to finance the running of a post office or allow the post office to have premises rent free in order to help close a competiter. I was wondering if something similar was going on here.
Re Grange Newsagents & Post Office. May be good news here! I was reliably informed yesterday that shop & PO will continue “under new management” (sort of). Contract has yet to be signed, but so far so good.
This will be a huge relief to the neighbourhood, but we need to “use it or lose it” as they say!
Now we need to sort out Tesco Express. I was horrified to see the damage done to the verges by lorries, & I have seen so many “near misses”, with cars reversing onto London Rd.
Please resolve this as sap & before there is a serious accident.
Thanks for the update Janet. Re Tesco I know one of the Sweyne Park ward councillors Toby Mountain is trying to deal with this and we’ll support him as needed.