Julia Lopez MP has launched a petition to save the Harold Hill Post Office branch in her constituency which has been earmarked for potential closure.
Mrs Lopez has written to the Post Office setting out her concerns as well as attending a meeting of crossbench MPs in Parliament to discuss how to oppose the closures. She will meet with the Post Office next month to discuss the proposals further.
Link to petition here – https://www.julialopez.co.uk/campaigns/petition-save-harold-hill-post-office
The news comes following the Post Office’s announcement that they plan to offload 115 of their directly managed branches.
Mrs Lopez wrote to the organisation highlighting her concerns about the proposals and the impact the closure of the branch could have on residents in Harold Hill, particularly in relation to access to cash.
In their response, the Post Office suggested that the branch would not necessarily close but may be taken on by a Postmaster or a retail partner.
Now the MP for Hornchurch & Upminster (which includes Harold Hill), has launched a petition to show support for keeping the branch on the high street in a bid to save it from closure.
Commenting Mrs Lopez said:
“I’m worried that if the Post Office choose to close their Harold Hill branch that it will leave many in our community cut off from cash. Harold Hill is one of the more cash dependent communities in our constituency and has fewer transport links than elsewhere, making it harder for people to access this basic provision.”
“I’m calling on everyone in Harold Hill to sign this petition and show their support for keeping the branch open. Post Offices and access to cash are a vital part of keeping our high streets attractive places to shop and socialise with friends. We need to use this time to demonstrate the demand for Post Office services. The louder residents' voice on this, the better.”
Mrs Lopez has previously raised concerns about a lack of access to cash in Harold Hill to Link UK as part of her campaign for a banking hub in the constituency. However, Harold Hill was deemed ineligible due to the presence of TSB on the high street.
The closure of the Post Office branch would mean one less place to access cash services in an area which has seen multiple bank branch closures in the last decade.
