Concerns over post office franchising

10:45am Friday 12th May 2006

The proposed franchising of Burnt Oak post office has been opposed by a residents' petition concerned at the quality of service.

Plans for the post office, in Burnt Oak Broadway, to be run by a private company were announced last month and could see the number of counters cut from nine to five.

Stan Davison, chairman of the Burnt Oak branch of the Barnet Pensioners' Forum, said: "I will be signing that petition and I am sure so will many of my members. We are opposed to franchising in principle but are also concerned about the number of counters. More than that, it is the reduction in services that we are concerned about, such as pension collection."

The Hendon MP Andrew Dismore said: "People are not at all happy about this. I am very certain that the Post Office did not consult with local people before making their decision. It may not be in my area it is on the Harrow side of the street but many of my constituents travel to the branch and I am writing a letter to the Post Office."

A spokeswoman for the Post Office said: "The wide range of Post Office services available will remain, including personal banking, financial services, car tax renewal, passport application checking and foreign currency."