Post Office Ltd confirmed ten branches are “temporarily closed across Merseyside including 9 in Liverpool
Childwall Post Office on Dunbabin Road on Tuesday morning, November 11. (Image: Liverpool ECHO)
The Post Office said “it is not known” when ten closed Merseyside branches will reopen — as parcels remain trapped inside. Packages have gone uncollected and undelivered after ten branches across the region closed suddenly on Thursday (November 6).
Post Office Ltd has now confirmed ten branches are “temporarily closed across Merseyside, including nine in Liverpool“. Those branches are Childwall, Formby, Hunts Cross, Monument Place, Penny Lane, Toxteth, Tuebrook, Walton Vale, Watts Lane and Woolton.
Post Office Ltd said the branches are closed for “operational reasons”. Despite repeated requests from the ECHO, the publicly-owned firm is yet to explain what those operational reasons are. The ECHO has visited several of the affected branches since the closures, often finding bewildered and frustrated customers outside.
Undelivered packages are trapped inside the shuttered Post Offices after the sudden closures last week. The Post Office said these parcels will “soon be removed” and that customers will be notified as to where they can collect the items.
The Department for Business and Trade, the government department that oversees Post Office Ltd, has twice refused to comment, saying the issue was the remit of the Post Office as it fell under day-to-day operations.
Queues for the cashpoint at the shuttered Watts Lane Post Office, Bootle.(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Some of the affected branches are the only places offering financial facilities after high street banks closed in recent years. Lucy Antal, 57, who works for Foodrise, said of Woolton post Office: “This is going to have a big impact. The Post Office is always busy. You go there at any time and there’s always a queue of people getting their pensions, or paying their bills, or putting money into their bank accounts. It’s really popular.
“This closure leaves the whole village with no way to do banking — or to post things, for that matter. It’s crucial.“
Martin Prince, 66, has seen his local Post Office close. He said: “For those people who want cash or to process transactions, it means a huge inconvenience in having to travel to either Southport or Crosby, and for some elderly people that will be impossible because they haven’t got the transport to be able to do that.
Rina Miles, 79, was hoping to post a parcel at Childwall Post Office on Dunbabin Road, but found it shut after its sudden closure last week. (Image: Liverpool Echo)
“I would think there are a lot of people worried about this locally, particularly older people who rely on the Post Office to withdraw their pension.”
A Post Office spokesperson said: “There are 10 Post Office branches in the Liverpool area that are currently closed for operational reasons. It is not known when these branches will re-open. We are working hard to restore service as soon as possible. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by these temporary closures.
“In the interim there are nearby alternative branches and customers are advised to visit www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder to find out the locations, opening hours and the range of services offered.
Empty desks at the closed Walton Vale Post Office.(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
“Regrettably there are some parcels for collection inside branches which will soon be removed from these locations. Customers will be notified as to where they can collect these items.”
How are the closures affecting you? Contact jonathan.blackburn@reachplc.com