Residents to boycott Finsbury Park Post Office stationery shop over merger

Local MP Diane Abbott voiced her support for the campaign earlier this year. Photograph: Hackney Citizen

Hundreds of residents fighting Post Office plans to franchise its Finsbury Park branch have pledged to boycott the proposed stationery shop.

The mail giant wants to refurbish the premises at 290 Seven Sisters Road before farming it out in November to a man named Mr Rizwan Salahuddin, who will run the Post Office services as well as selling stationery.

The Post Office says the branch will keep all of its current services apart from the Biometric Enrolment Service for the Home Office.

The new branch will have five serving positions with opening hours from 9am until 5.30pm from Monday to subject to an ongoing consultation, .

The current Post Office operates under the same hours, other than Saturdays, when it closes at 12.30pm.

As part of the public consultation, which ends on 6 September, Post Office Ltd is holding a drop-in session today at Finsbury Park Community Hub on the Andover Estate. People can attend any time between 3.30pm and 7.30pm.

Geraldine Timlin, a local resident who started an online petition to save the current branch, said in a letter to neighbours: “Post Office Ltd have deliberately chosen peak holiday time to hold this consultation. They are relying on nobody turning up to challenge their proposed action. Let’s show them that us Finsbury Parkers do give a damn!”

Over 1,200 people have signed Timlin’s petition, and she said “hundreds of pledges” to boycott the proposed stationery shop will be handed to Post Office Ltd at the consultation.

She added: “Why offer to run it as a stationery store when we have a long-established stationers, dating back over 50 years, with a loyal customer base on Blackstock Road?”

Local MP Diane Abbott joined protesters outside the branch earlier this year to voice her opposition to the franchise plans.

In her letter, Timlin went on to say: “Evidence shows that the franchise model has often not been successful. Other franchises are known to become quickly run down and, as soon as profits drop, the franchisee pulls out.  Under a franchise model, the branch could be closed down with a year’s notice. What happens then?”

But Post Office sales director Roger Gale said franchising the Finsbury Park branch would help secure its long-term viability.

He said: “We are making sure we take the right action to sustain services for years to come. We have to adapt so that we can maintain our presence on high streets and in the heart of communities, which we are determined to do.”

The Post Office says it “welcomes feedback on factors such as the location, the proposed premises, accessibility or community issues that customers would like considered before a final decision is made on the proposal”.

The public consultation ends on 6 September, and those who cannot make today’s drop-in session can also have their say at postofficeviews.co.uk