Retail on the Cally Road constantly struggles to keep its head above water. Now Tony Rees gets in touch to tell me that the post office at the bottom end of the Cally in the one way system faces the axe (see below). Post Offices create a flow of people from which other shops benefit. It is a terrible prospect for pensioners to have to cross three major arterial roads, with appalling crossings to get to the Euston Road office. The other Cally post office is some way up hill. And of course the Council has taken away all the benches on which older people used to sit for a rest along the Cally Road.
Tony says:
‘We just learnt today that our local Post Office at 100 Caledonian Road is to close as part of measures to "modernise and reshape" the Post Office network. This will mean our nearest Post offices will be in Euston Road, the other side of the King’s Cross gyratory nightmare, or 320 Caledonian Road, a healthy brisk ten minute walk, just what we oldies (and young mums) need. There is to be a local consultation period ending on the 2nd April. Comments can be sent to:
Anita Turner
Network Development Manager
Post Office Ltd
C/O National Consultation Team
FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM
Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk
Customer helpline: 08457 223344
Kings Cross Environment 
This makes me very cross – I am writing a letter immediately.
What particularly worries me is the notice in the PO at 100 Cally Road says the nearest POs are at Marchmont Street, Mount Pleasant and Farringdon Road. No mention of the Euston Road one. Does this mean Euston Road is earmarked for future closure? It’s almost not a post office as it is with a caff, general groceries and dodgy mobile phone stall at the front.
I’m just visualising taking four sacks of mail on a trolley from Cally Road across Euston Road (3 sets of lights). Not fun. But if the nearest post offices are at Marchmont Street, Mount Pleasant and Farringdon Road it’ll be even worse. We could have the mail collected but it would cost £6 per month (being too small an organisation to qualify for free collection). Royal Mail will benefit from the closure …
This is what I have sent today:
Anita Turner
Network Development Manager
Post Office Ltd
C/O National Consultation Team
Ms Turner
I am writing to oppose the proposed closure of this Office. I have lived in the area since 1980 and my company has had its Royal Mail services account here since 1999.
I would state three objections to this proposal:
– at a time when the Caledonian Road is at last seeing a period of recovery and improvement (which will be further stimulated by the redevelopment of King’s Cross) now is the time to enhance local consumer and business facilities with a view to growth, not to remove them;
– the alternative options for less mobile customers such as the elderly or disabled are not satisfactory, these being either having to get across the busy Euston Road or up to 320 Caledonian Road with the pavement on the east side between Copenhagen Street and Richmond Avenue being particularly difficult to negotiate;
– both these offices are already characterised by long queues much of the time, a situation which can only become worse with reduced alternative outlets.
It also strikes me as the daftest possible business model that, at a time when the Post Office is actively advertising additional services like travel insurance and telephone, it is closing the shopfronts from which they can be purchased.
Please confirm your receipt of this email.
Thank you
Aron Cronin
18 Thornhill Square
London N1 1BQ
cc. Emily Thornberry MP Islington South
This is the letter we sent re. the threatened closure of the PO at 100 Caledonian Road – objections can be sent until 2nd April so I hope they have received plenty of similar letters:
Anita Turner, Network Development Manager, Post Office Ltd
C/O National Consultation Team
Dear Anita Turner,
We are very saddened to hear that there is a move to close our local post office at 100 Caledonian Road, Islington. The extensive regeneration of the Kings Cross area as a thriving residential and business district has led to many people moving back into an area that was in the doldrums for years. Apart from the convenience of having a post office within easy walking distance of a large residential district and thriving business area, this unit is exceptionally well-run and makes a lively focal point for the community. It is a pleasure to use this PO/shop where the staff are friendly and personal – I don’t think I have ever found the shop empty – yesterday, for instance, there were 10 people in there. There are also newly improved road crossings for elderly and disabled people so that it is easy to get to this Office on foot from all directions.
By contrast, the road crossings at the bottom of both the Caledonian Road and York Way are chaotic and unpleasant and potentially dangerous; the crossing on Grays Inn Road / Euston Road is equally so. Anyone who has difficulty walking at speed can feel very vulnerable on all of these crossings. The alternative is the underpass involving two flights of stairs and an underground walkway. Then, when you get to the larger, Euston Road Post Office, instead of friendly staff who know the local people, there are long queues and, while waiting, one is subjected to inescapable and insistent marketing from a large screen – a place to be avoided if at all possible!
It seems to me that the Post Office is doing all it can to encourage people to find alternative ways to communicate rather than by post. Electronic birthday and other greetings become a much more attractive option when one has to negotiate three unpleasant road crossings and a minimum of a half-hour walk instead of 5-8 minutes round the corner and a pleasant chat with familiar people.
This area is about to have an influx of anything up to another 1000 people working close by as the new Concert Halls, restaurants and Guardian Unlimited offices come into use at Kings Place, York Way, later this year. It therefore seems extraordinarily short-sighted of you to take away this local facility.
The current government professes to be in favour of encouraging a sense of community in our regenerated urban centres and making them pedestrian friendly. If the Post Office continues down this path of closing local POs, it will be seen to be encouraging the isolation of elderly people and tearing the heart out of thriving communities.
I sincerely hope that the powers-that-be within the Post Office system will think again about this decision.
Philip & Jean James
cc. Emily Thornberry, Islington MP for information.
I wrote the following to the Post Office National consultation group on 07/03/08:
It is with absolute incredulity that I became aware today of your proposed closure of this office. In simple terms the person or persons
who have produced the proposal have not an ounce of business sense but are clearly following orders and “policy”. Very sad!
From experience of other recent closures elsewhere I realise I am wasting the time and effort to write but shall do so anyway to niggle your collective conscience.
As one would expect the consultation document is factually well researched and the decision will have been made using a pair of compasses on a map to meet the distance requirements. I am sure you will have also taken into account the type of local residents to pick on i.e. the ones less likely or able to kick up a fuss.
My experience of this branch at all times of day and days of the week is that there is always someone at the counter and usually a small queue (no doubt your well researched and documented headcounts will confrim this). It is not some back street residential Post Office with a few customers per day but a significant business in its own right. The service is second to none – the staff are knowledgeable, well motivated, customer focussed and recognise regular users and make them feel welcome. They show great flexibility of working despite having just 2 counter positions and thus keep the queues moving and satisfied. There seem to be regular visits from small businesses during the day and particularly late afternoon making considerable use of the Royal Mail Premium Services. This area of King’s Cross is “on the up” with significant urban regeneration and an influx of small businesses who favour Royal Mail and thus the Post Office. A recent block of 350-400 students rooms has opened and other large build developments are within 100 yards of the 100 Caledonian Road Post Office. More will follow as the Channel Tunnel effect and other associated investment takes hold.
King’s Cross had a generally bad reputation and in my view the alternative office King’s Cross Branch in Euston Road is one of the last vestiges of that bad reputation. I would regard it as the worst business “venue” in the area – tatty, disorganised, unfriendly and surly staff, communication difficulties with many counter staff, inadequate staffing often at key times. It is somewhere to avoid like the plague yet your proposal will send even more people to this fate and it will simply overload and be hugely inadequate at those key peak times such as Mondays – Friday after 1630 when the Royal Mail Premium Services customers pile in – I suspect many will simply miss the daily dispatch deadline and be forced to consider courier services alternatives which will reinforce the Royal Mail decline in a downwards spiral.
But why should you care as you will have kidded yourself that you have met the objectives imposed on you by your Lords and Masters (only acting upon orders eh) and achieved a numbers game with no cognisance of (nor indeed care for) values of customer care.
Customers are paramount to any business and treating them with disdain is usually punished by those customers with a heavy hand.
To close this branch is simply accountants’ and fools’ folly and not that of sound businessmen(women) so I expect to hear that a reprieve has been made within days of you receiving this e-mail.
In any case please ensure I receive an immediate acknowledgement of receipt – and a full reply on points raised by close of business next Friday 14th March 2008.
Yours sincerely
The result has been announced today 07/05/08 – the closure will take place!
Decision paper announces:
Post Office® Caledonian Road (100) branch
The main concerns expressed by respondents during local public consultation in relation to our
proposal for this branch related to the potential impact the proposed closure might have on the
community, with many respondents commenting that this branch is important for vulnerable people
and as a social hub. Respondents also commented that Post Office® Caledonian Road (100) branch
has easy access and a wide range of products and praised the staff for their efficient service.
Respondents also noted that several major developments are planned for the King’s Cross area,
including student housing, offices and restaurants.
Post Office Limited received a petition in relation to this branch during the local public consultation,
opposing the proposed closure.
Post Office Limited has considered all responses received and a review of this proposal has been
undertaken. The nearest alternative branch, Post Office® Kings Cross branch, is less than half a mile
away. It offers extended opening hours and a wider range of products than Post Office® Caledonian
Road (100) branch. It also has level access into the branch for customers with mobility constraints,
including disabled and elderly customers, and is on a bus route. The next nearest branch, Post Office®
Caledonian Road (320) branch, is approximately half a mile away. This branch also has level access for
customers with mobility constraints, and is also on a bus route.
Taking these and all other relevant factors into account, including the needs of more vulnerable
customers, Post Office Limited has decided to proceed with the closure of Post Office® Caledonian
Road (100) branch.
What a whitewash – what a sham of consultation. What a clueless business in disarray.
I have asked Postwatch to intervene to force The Post Office to reply on individual points raised in my consultation submission. Whether they have the statutory teeth or the organisational stomach for a fight we shall have to wait and see.
For those with sustained interest in this matter and a continued stomach to fit an un-businesslike decision by a so called business please see below the latest letter I have received from the Post Office National Consultation Team:
Thank your for your further e-mails regarding Caledonian Road (100) Post Office® branch. I have been asked to reply as a member of the Agency Correspondence Team with responsibilities for network change.
First and foremost, I would like to assure you that all written and electronic responses received during local consultation are carefully read and recorded by the National Consultation Team. Due to the high volume of correspondence received an automated acknowledgement is provided to ensure respondents are aware that their comments will contribute to the local consultation process.
The National Consultation Team is a specialist team responsible for administering the consultation process for all network change projects nation-wide. We handle all incoming mail relating to the Network Change Programme on behalf of the respective Network Development Managers and ensure that they are advised, throughout the consultation period, of all the key issues raised by customers and local community representatives to make certain that before our decisions are taken in line with various Government specified criteria and factors, all relevant public consultation responses are carefully considered and taken into account. We, therefore, view the six-week local public consultation as a very real and important opportunity for all interested parties to engage with us and let us know how our proposals impact on them, which will help inform and shape our final decision.
I would, however, like to take this opportunity to provide you with a more personal response and explain the background to the Network Change Programme. The Government conducted a national consultation regarding the Post Office network, which concluded in March 2007. This consultation received the largest number of responses to date regarding any single consultation process and more than 2000 respondents wrote to the Government to express their views. On 17th May the Government produced their response to this consultation, which is available on the following website:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/consultations/page36024.html
The outcome of the consultation was that Post Office Ltd was required to deliver the changes to the network in line with the national access criteria and other relevant factors. Post Office Ltd has now put in place a Network Change Programme to implement the measures proposed by the Government. The Programme will involve the compulsory compensated closure of up to 2,500 Post Office branches (out of a current Network of 14,300 branches), with the introduction of about 500 service points known as “Outreaches” to mitigate the impact of the proposed closures.
From the outset of the Network Change Programme, Post Office Ltd made it clear in its communications that the Programme was not designed to be a vote about whether branches should close, but was about ensuring that Post Office Ltd had the best available knowledge to allow it to make the most informed decisions about which branches should close at local level. On top of this Social issues are very carefully considered and a great deal of preparation work is undertaken locally before the Area Plan is submitted into public consultation. Indeed our aim is to go into consultation with well-researched effective proposals. In this respect, a Manager of Post Office Ltd has visited the area to review the area surrounding the branch, taking into account terrain and distance and convenience of other branches.
Post Office Ltd has also engaged with various stakeholders during the 12-week pre-consultation period. During this time we seek to validate proposals and engage with both our own people and with various stakeholders and local authorities, who have either valuable local information that we wish to collect in order to shape our proposals, or a specific interest in service provision in the area under review. It may reassure you to know in total 33% of the initial Area Plan Proposal was changed as all the above mentioned factors were reviewed and as information from stakeholders was considered and assessed.
The financial aspect of the programme is to make savings from closing
branches- this is an important distinction from profitability of an individual branch. It should be noted, however that no branch will be closed that does not make an cost saving to Post Office Ltd and contribute to the overall profitability of Post Office Ltd. However, the level of profitability to Post Office Ltd, or the subpostmaster, or the level of savings which may be achieved is not the overriding consideration in proposing a particular branch for closure or outreach- it is always considered alongside usage, proximity, relative size and fit to the Government’s national accessibility criteria as well as the other factors Post Office Ltd has to take into account.
Turning now to the consultation itself Post Office Ltd received approximately 27,600 pieces of correspondence and attended 79 meetings with customers and their representatives during the local public consultation for this Area Plan. It is against the backdrop of this hugely complex and extensive exercise, balanced against the severe financial constraints that the network faces, that your concerns must be considered.
The main concerns expressed by respondents during local public consultation in relation to our proposal for this branch related to the potential impact the proposed closure might have on the community, with many respondents commenting that this branch is important for vulnerable people and as a social hub. Respondents also commented that Post Office® Caledonian Road
(100) branch has easy access and a wide range of products and praised the staff for their efficient service. Respondents also noted that several major developments are planned for the Kings Cross area, including student housing, offices and restaurants.
Post Office Limited received a petition in relation to this branch during the local public consultation, opposing the proposed closure.
Post Office Limited has considered all responses received and a review of this proposal has been undertaken. The nearest alternative branch, Post Office® Kings Cross branch, is less than half a mile away. It offers extended opening hours and a wider range of products than Post Office® Caledonian Road (100) branch. It also has level access into the branch for customers with mobility constraints, including disabled and elderly customers, and is on a bus route. The next nearest branch, Post Office® Caledonian Road (320) branch, is approximately half a mile away. This branch also has level access for customers with mobility constraints, and is also on a bus route.
Taking these and all other relevant factors into account, including the needs of more vulnerable customers, Post Office Limited has decided to proceed with the closure of Post Office® Caledonian Road (100) branch. We are confident that the alternatives for this branch have the capacity to cope with the expected customer migration however, a Dedicated Business Development Manager will keep service provision under review to ensure that customer service targets continue to be met.
The consultation was conducted precisely in accordance with the detailed terms of the Memorandum of Understanding agreed between Post Office Ltd and Postwatch, who has not asked Post Office Ltd to undertake any further review in respect of Caledonian Road Post Office® branch. The decision of Post Office Ltd is, therefore, final and there is no appeal procedure to Post Office Ltd. I appreciate that there will, inevitably, be disappointment around the decisions taken by Post Office Ltd, but the decision fully reflects the robust process that has been carried out.
As requested the contact details for Postwatch are
Please e-mail – info@postwatch.co.uk
Or Mail to – FREEPOST POSTWATCH.
I trust that I have clarified our final decision.
Yours sincerely
Agency Correspondence Team
Post Office Ltd
I have to say that the statement that the decision is cost lead and not based on profitability is belly-achingly laughable and proves to me it is based on dogma and not on sound business practice.
Please see e-mail received from Postwatch today
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEAS LEFT ON HOW TO TACKLE AND ACHIEVE REVERSAL OF THE CLOSURE DECISION PLEASE?
15 May 2008
Dear Mr Corbett
Thanks again for your e-mails of 7 May and 12 May.
I take your points about the decision to close 100 Caledonian Road Post Office, but do
not think there are grounds for a review. Clearly, many post office closures have been
strongly opposed, but the expectation remains that they will help create a sustainable
service that is still accessible to customers.
I am particularly interested in your comments about Kings Cross Post Office. One of the
unexpected positive outcomes of the consultation period for Postwatch is that
customers have been much more forthcoming in their criticisms of service standards.
Normally, complaints are made only informally, which makes it difficult for us to seek
improvements.
I think that if customers have to accept closures, the least they can expect is a high
standard of service at whatever office they transfer their custom to. If you have specific
complaints about Kings Cross or any other post office, I would advise complaining
directly to Post Office Ltd’s Customer Services on 08457 223355 and making sure you
get a complaint number.
For a while, you can refer your complaint to Postwatch if it is not satisfactorily resolved.
However, this organisation will become part of the ‘New National Consumer Council’
from October 2008, and it is not clear how local complaints will be dealt with from that
time.
I hope this is of some help.
Yours sincerely
Regional Manager
Final posting and indictment of the current Government and quickly may it fall ………………
OFFICIAL NOTICE IN POST OFFICE SAYS
CLOSES AT 1300 ON MONDAY 23RD JUNE 2008