Surbiton Post Office will close in October, prompting a search for a new operator to restore postal services in the town.
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for Kingston and Surbiton, alongside local Kingston councillors, have campaigned to keep the Post Office open.
This comes after the mail depot’s retail partner Morrisons Daily reviewed its store operations and decided to close their Surbiton store.
Following the initial announcement, the Post Office has confirmed the branch will now continue trading until 4 October.
Post Office Ltd said it has already received ‘many expressions of interest’ from potential operators and hopes to reopen the service as quickly as possible.
“We fully recognise the inconvenience this will cause our customers and small businesses who rely on our banking and parcel services in particular, so we want to open a replacement branch as soon as possible,” a Post Office spokesperson said.
If a new operator is not secured before the closure, customers will be directed to alternative branches at Alexandra Drive, Hawks Road and Thames Ditton, each around 1.5 miles from the current site.
This closure will be particularly inconvenient during the festive period that shortly follows the October shutdown.
The postal outlet has been an integral part of the town and many locals are upset by the decision to cease the store.
Tom Williams, 40, a primary school teacher from Surbiton, said: “It would be such a shame to lose the post office, because it’s such an important part of the community.
“It’s somewhere people rely on every day, and not everyone can easily travel to another branch.”
The vacancy has already been advertised on runapostoffice.co.uk
The Post Office has stated it has received ‘many expressions of interest’ and is currently looking more closely at these applications.
Featured image credit: Kitty Lovett
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