Post Office publishes plan to move Chiswick Post Office to Robert Dyas premises on Chiswick High Road

The current Post Office premises on Heathfield Terrace

Post Office launches consultation on the move

The Post Office Ltd has published a consultation to move the Chiswick Post Office from its current premises in Heathfield Terrace to that of Robert Dyas on Chiswick High Road.

‘We are proposing to move the above Post Office branch to a new location – Robert Dyas, 326 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 5TA, where it would continue operate as one of our main style branches’, it says.

The proposed move would add six hours to the opening times and provide a permanent solution to the problem of where to relocate postal services, it says.

Chiswick Post Office was closed for several months last year and then taken over by a postmaster running it temporarily. The Post Office says it has now found a new permanent operator ‘who has identified an alternative location to operate Chiswick Post Office’.

READ ALSO: Leader of Hounslow Council and Chiswick MP ask for urgent talks over Post Office closure

READ ALSO: Post Office reopens

The Post Office wants to sell the premises in Heathfield Terrace and the hunt has been on for alternative premises.

‘Our priority is to safeguard our services in the locality in the longer term and the relocation of Chiswick Post Office would enable us to maintain a Post Office service to our customers in the local community’, it says.

The Chiswick Calendar spoke to Jamie, the assistant manager at Robert Dyas, who explained they would not be leaving Chiswick. The plan is to share the space with the Post Office, with the Post Office counter taking up about a third of the floor space in the back lefthand corner of the store.

The two will co-exist in an open plan space. The staff welcome the proposal, he said, and they hope it will bring more customers into the store, which is part of the Rymans Group, an established partner of the Post Office.

The plan is to have three serving positions open for six hours a week longer than currently provided at Heathfield Terrace, including Saturday afternoon and later closing. Current opening times are Monday – Friday from 09.00am – 5.30pm; Saturday 09.00am – 2.30pm. Proposed opening times at Rymans: Monday – Saturday 09.00am – 6.00pm.

The Post Office has made no comment yet on what it intends to do with the parcel office.

The consultation ends on 3 July and Jamie expects the work to convert the shop to go ahead within a couple of months.

Andy Slaughter MP

Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and Chsiwick, commented:

“I am so pleased to see a sensible proposal. It is a good location and a strong offer so hopefully the long saga of Chiswick Post Office is reaching a good conclusion.

“It shows Hounslow Council and I were right to engage constructively with PO Ltd and make sure we knew what was happening before making any announcements, as we know how important the Post Office is to people in Chiswick”.

He was instrumental in getting the Chiswick branch reopened last year and has had several face to face meetings with Post Office managers over the future of the Chiswick branch.

The example the Post Office gives of how the interior will look

The Post Office is asking for the public’s views on the proposal and is looking for Chiswick residents’ feedback and comments.

Their survey specifically asks about getting to the proposed location, getting into the building, manoeuvrability once inside it, and whether there any other local community issues which you believe could be affected by, or affect the proposed Post Office move.

Take part in the consultation here:

Post Office Consultation on Chiswick Post Office