MP Welcomes Consultation On Relocation Of Wandsworth Crown Post Office

Concerned that access issues be overcome

The Post Office has announced a consultation to relocate its Wandsworth Crown branch from their current site at 1 Arndale Walk, London, SW18 4BL, to a new premises at Unit A, Hardwick Way, Buckhold Road, London, SW18 4AW, close to the new Jobcentre Plus which opened in December.

As the Southside Walk Shopping Centre is due to undergo a major redevelopment, the current Post Office site will be demolished. Post Office has proposed that the new premises will be an open plan branch with longer opening hours.

The Wandsworth Town Crown Post Office will offer 7 counter positions along with 2 new Post and Go machines which will allow customers to purchase postage for letters and parcels rather than queuing for counter assistance.

Local MP Justine Greening welcomed the consultation saying: “It is great that residents and local business will be getting a modernised new Post Office locally with better facilities and increased opening hours. The new site is very close to the current one however it is important that any accessibility issues are overcome. “

“I will be writing to the Post Office directly but if you would like to copy me into any correspondence, I will make sure these are included with my response.”

You can find a copy of the Post Office's consultation below.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the Post Office's proposals you can contact Justine by writing to Justine Greening MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or by email at greeningj@parliament.uk

Copy of Post Office consultation:

Wandsworth Crown Post Office® branch - 1 Arndale Walk, London, SW18 4BL

I am writing to let you know that we are proposing to move the above branch a distance of 155 metres to modern new premises at Unit A, Hardwick Way, Buckhold Road, London, SW18 4AW.

Why are we doing this? The Arndale Walk Shopping Centre is shortly to undergo a major redevelopment which will result in our current premises being demolished. Moving this branch to a new location provides us with an exciting opportunity to offer Wandsworth a new, modern, fully equipped Post Office in newly refurbished premises. Our priority is to ensure that we provide the right level of service provision that will meet customer needs, both now and into the longer term future, and also secure the long-term viability of Crown Post Office services in the locality.

Our Proposal. Our customers will be provided with a brand new fully modernised open-plan Post Office branch, providing a much-improved environment to carry out their business with us. The interior layout of the premises will be designed to be customer friendly, providing ample space for our customers with ease of access and manoeuvrability for pushchairs and wheelchair users alike as access into the branch will be level with automatic doors.

The new branch will be known as Wandsworth Town Crown Post Office and will offer 7 counter facilities:

• 4 all purpose open plan counter positions
• A further 2 open plan counters designated for travel products
• A traditional security screened position for high value transactions

Additionally there will be:

• 2 Post and Go machines
• A private consultation room where customers can receive confidential financial advice
• A dedicated mails acceptance point

The numbers of serving positions have been based on current and future predicted business levels, with the designated travel product positions having the flexibility to be used for other products and services during busy periods. New facilities like the Post and Go machines will allow customers to purchase postage for letters and parcels rather than queuing for counter assistance. The branch will continue to be run by existing members of staff who will also be on hand to assist customers in the use of the new services. The consultation room is an example of the modern and innovative way the Post Office is developing its future business to meet complex customer needs in wide ranging financial and telephony services. Please find enclosed an information sheet with more details about the new branch.

Please note that the postal address of the proposed new site is provisional at this stage. This is because a postcode is not activated until a property is ready for mail delivery. Therefore, should our proposal to relocate this service go ahead, these details will then be confirmed.

Consulting on the proposed new location

We’re now starting a 6 week local public consultation and would like you to tell us what you think about the suitability of the proposed new location. Before we finalise our plans, we would really like to hear your views on the proposed location, particularly in the following areas:

• How suitable do you think the new location and premises are and how easy it is to get there?
• Based on your experience of access to and ease of use inside the current Post Office, what suggestions would you make for the proposed new service?
• Do you have any concerns about the new location?
• If so, do you have any suggestions that could help us make it better for you?
• Are there any local community issues which you think could be affected by the proposed change?
• Is there anything you particularly like about the proposed change?

If you have any comments or questions, please email or write to me via our Communication and Consultation team, whose contact details are below. Any information we receive will be considered as we finalise our plans for the new branch. Other people in your organisation may be interested in this proposal, so please let them know about it.

Dates for local public consultation:
Local Public Consultation starts 8 January 2013
Local Public Consultation ends 19 February 2013
Proposed month of change May 2013

Posters and leaflets will now be displayed in branch to let customers know about the changes and to ask their views. I’ve included information about the Code of Practice over the page and copies of the Code will also be available in branch.

Wandsworth Post Office information sheet:

	Current Wandsworth Post Office location	Proposed new Post Office location (subject to local public consultation)
Address	1 Arndale Walk London SW18 4BL	Unit A Hardwick Way Buckhold Road London SW18 4AW
Post Office Opening hours	Mon 09:00 – 17:30 Tue 09:30 – 17:30 Wed 09:00 – 17:30 Thu 09:00 – 17:30 Fri 09:00 – 17:30 Sat 09:00 – 17:30 Sun Closed	Mon 09:00 – 18:00 Tue 09:30 – 18:00 Wed 09:00 – 18:00 Thu 09:00 – 18:00 Fri 09:00 – 18:00 Sat 09:00 – 17:30 Sun Closed
Distance		155 metres away on foot from the current branch, along level terrain.
Products & Services		The same wide range of products and services will still be available.
Additional Facilities		2 Post and Go machines Dedicated mails acceptance point A private consultation room for appointment based discussions around our extensive range of financial and telephony services
Serving positions		There will be seven serving positions which will be a combination of security screened and open plan counters
Accessibility & Accessibility works	Access and facilities Access is level with a wide door at the entrance to the premises. Internally, there is a low level serving counter, a low level writing desk, a hearing loop and space for wheelchair users. Parking There is a car park within 92 metres of the premises. Buses Public transport services are available to and from the surrounding residential areas.	Access and facilities Access would be level with an automatic door at the entrance to the proposed premises. Internally, all counters offer low level serving facilities, a low level writing desk, a number of hearing loops and space for wheelchair users. Parking There is a car park within 274 metres of the premises. Buses Public transport services are available to and from the surrounding residential areas.

February 5, 2013