25 signatures reached
To: Simon Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Mail
Stop the closure of Blackheath Delivery Office
Residents in the area of Blackheath Delivery Office (BDO) were notified in the week of 14 February 2022 that it would be closing by 13 March 2022, and replaced by the existing Charlton and Greenwich Delivery Office (CGDO).
There was no local consultation and no previous announcement that this was being considered, which is unacceptable for this highly utilised and much valued local service.
In addition to the lack of engagement with the community, this is a terrible decision due to the impact on accessibility and traffic:
- CGDO is more than 3.4km from BDO by road; the only bus route (the 108) from BDO to CGDO has a stop 200m away, across 6 lanes of traffic
- anyone cycling from BDO to CGDO will have to navigate the notorious A206/A102 junction, where several cyclists have been killed in recent years
- anyone driving to CGDO, as well as adding to local traffic (which is already at extremely high levels with frequently illegal air quality) will find there is no dedicated parking at CGDO; at BDO there is a 35-space car park opposite the office
In addition to the lack of consultation and the access problems and dangers it will create, this planned closure comes at a time when use of postal and delivery services is at an all-time high, meaning the delivery offices are busier than they have ever been before. It makes no business sense to reduce the service to the public when it is clear that more and better services are needed to cope with the volume of use.
The closure plans must be withdrawn now, and the Royal Mail must engage with the local community to understand how it can improve its services, which will not include closing the highly valued and very busy Blackheath Delivery Office.
Why is this important?
For many years, Royal Mail has been closing post offices and delivery offices and making access to them more and more difficult. This latest poor decision comes at a time when demand for delivery office services is at an all-time high, and when road traffic must be reduced for air quality and climate reasons.
Yet if this closure goes ahead, thousands of Royal Mail customers of Blackheath Delivery Office (BDO) will be forced to use Charlton and Greenwich Delivery Office (CGDO) instead, and because of its distance and difficulty of access, will likely take to their cars as the only realistic way of reaching it.
Many residents and current customers of BDO don't even have access to cars, and will find it difficult and expensive, or even impossible to use CGDO.
