The Post Office has this morning confirmed that it is to close the large branch on the High Street, and move into the WH Smith/TG Jones in the Whitgift Centre, probably by the end of March next year.
More than just selling stamps: Croydon’s Post Office on the High Street
The Post Office conducted a public consultation, and now they are going ahead and doing what they always intended to do in the first place.
Included in the Post Office’s reasons for ignoring the concerns of its own customers, they said that since works to redevelop the Whitgift Centre won’t be starting until 2028 at the earliest, they might as well crack on with their move now…
Yes: 2028.
At the earliest.
The Post Office closure represents yet another hammer blow to the stretch of Croydon High Street from George Street towards the Town Hall, where Five Guys and Milletts have closed recently, as has the Turtle Bay Caribbean restaurant, following the closure of The Milan Bar ‘Spoons three years ago.
None of those premises have since reopened with new tenants.
The Croydon High Street Post Office, in as central a location as could be wished for, close to the tram rattling down George Street and on to Church Street, is a grand, purpose-built building dating from more than a century ago. Nothing in the Post Office’s consultation indicated what plans they might have for the building, nor how they intend to preserve this bit of Croydon’s built heritage.
Croydon’s is one of 115 Crown Post Offices to close, with a loss of around 1,000 jobs, in a move described by union bosses as “immoral”.
Croydon’s main Post Office is almost always busy, often with long queues which the staff usually move along swiftly and efficiently. They provide services far more complex than simply the selling of postage stamps, as they handle pension payments, gas meter top-ups, out-of-hours banking payments, driving licence and passport applications and a range of other, quasi-governmental bits of form-filling essential for life in 21st Century Britain.
The Post Office is – or was – the largest retailer in the country, often providing an anchor for communities, offering mail and banking services to approximately 6million small businesses.
Martin Edwards, the “transformation delivery director” for the scandal-hit Post Office Ltd, wrote this morning: “Following a period of local public consultation and review…”, Ha! “we have made the decision to proceed with the move of [Croydon High Street] Post Office into TGJones retail store at Whitgift Centre, 34 North End, Croydon, CR0 1UB, where it will be known as Croydon branch and be run by our retail partner TGJones.
“I would like to thank everyone who took the time to let us have their comments and provide information…”, even though they’ve ignored every word.
“All the feedback we received helped us to better understand the views of customers and their representatives and this was taken into account, along with all other relevant factors, in making our decision.”
Clearly, there was only one “factor” the Post Office was ever going to consider.
But when just 145 people take part in an online consultation, the Post Office probably feels that there is little opposition to its plans.
These include reducing the number of customer service desks available to just three, with two self-service desks, in the TGJones version of the Post Office.
Among the concerns raised by those who did bother to complete the consultation were “Getting to the new location”, the shop is just 200 yards away on North End, “Access and space within the new location”, “Staff and Customer Service”, “Anti- Social Behaviour”, “the Future of the Whitgift Centre”, and “Service”.
In respect of the uncertainty over the future of the Whitgift Centre, the Post Office’s response states: “Whilst we are aware of proposed redevelopment schemes involving the Alders building, Centrale and Whitgift Shopping Centres, at present, planning consent for the Whitgift redevelopment has not been secured, and it is unlikely that any significant activity will begin before 2028, and the project is expected to be delivered in phases.” Which, roughly translated means: we ain’t gonna wait around for Westfield any longer…
“Post Office and our retail partner are committed to retaining Post Office services and will work with the landlord to maintain services in the local area,” they said.
And as for anti-social behaviour along North End, the Post Office’s response amounts to a verbal version of a shrug: “Matters such as anti-social behavior [sic] are outside our direct control and are for the relevant authorities and local police to resolve.”
Shopfront: how TGJones stores look when combined with a Post Office
One improvement to service will be revised opening hours, from the current 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, the new TGJones branch will also be open on Sundays (from 11am to 5pm).
“We remain confident that the layout and location of the new branch will continue to meet customer needs and deliver an excellent service, whilst securing the long-term viability of Post Office services in the local community,” according to the Edwards letter.
He added that TGJones “TGJones are currently finalising refurbishment plans for your new branch which is due to open in March 2026”.
In the meantime, the current branch will close on Tuesday November 25 at 3pm, to “reopen” the following day and be run on an interim basis by the PO’s “franchise partner” ZCO Ltd.
The Post Office’s consultation report gave no indication of whether they received any submission from Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry nor the local MP, Sarah Jones.
Read more: Age UK calls for Mayor Khan to act against Post Office closures
Read more: Post Office closure deals new blow for Croydon High Street
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