Call for community to do ‘everything in its power’ to save Windsor Post Office

A call has been made for the Windsor community to do ‘everything in its power’ to protect the future of the town centre Post Office.

The Post Office announced in November it was considering the future of its remaining directly managed branches, known as Crown Post Offices, which are ‘loss-making’.

The company said it has long held a ‘publicly stated ambition’ to move to a fully franchised network of branches which are run by franchise partners or independent businesses.

During a meeting of the Windsor Forum at York House on Tuesday, councillors and residents discussed the future of the popular Peascod Street store.

Windsor resident Sue Pendry said: “The Post Office is just not for cash. It provides a much bigger service than that for the community.

“It’s vital that we do everything in our power to keep this open.”

She added: “The majority of people in Windsor don’t even know the Post Office is closing. We’ve got to make it so much more public to get people to understand this Post Office is under review.”

It is understood that 115 Post Office branches could be set to close nationwide as part of a shake-up of the business.

The company previously told the Express that no decision has been made over any branch.

Forum chairman Councillor Mark Wilson (Lib Dem, Eton and Castle) told Tuesday’s meeting: “As I understand it, Paul (town manager) has spoken to the manager of the Post Office and there are discussions going on with unions around the future and nothing has been decided.

“We have our own political campaign to save the Post Office and there’s a very, very strong feeling from residents.

“The Post Office is extremely popular and there’s a large voice speaking to support its retention.”

Fellow Liberal Democrat councillor Amy Tisi added it would be a ‘dreadful loss’ if the Peascod Street branch closed.

A Post Office spokesperson told the Express: “We invited expressions of interest to operate Post Offices in all remaining DMB locations, including for Windsor, to gauge market interest and explore whether franchising could be a viable option.

“We will review all responses, sharing the results with relevant trade unions and other stakeholders. 

 “We want to ensure that we make the best decisions for the future of each of our DMBs, helping to strengthen the network for the benefit of customers and postmasters.” 

Wider discussions concerning access to cash in Windsor took place during the forum meeting.

Town manager Paul Roach said the council applied for a banking hub to be established in the town last year following the departure of a number of high street banks.

Banking hubs are operated by Cash Access UK and give customers from various banks the opportunity to pay in cash, check balances and pay utility bills.

The council’s initial application for a baking hub was refused due to the town being deemed to have ‘adequate’ numbers of cash machines.

But Mr Roach confirmed another application will be submitted following a change in the assessment criteria for new banking hubs.

Independent councillor Wisdom Da Costa (WWRA, Clewer and Dedworth West) told the meeting it was important for gather as many residents’ views as possible on access to cash and be wary that not all people have access to online consultations.