Campaigners fear 130ft uphill climb if post office merger goes ahead

Residents in Brunswick Square may face a climb of 130ft - the same height as the Super Booster ride reaches on the Palace Pier - if their local post office closes.

That is the claim of campaigners who seek to save Western Road Crown Post Office.

The Post Office said in June, that the branch was no longer commercially viable, and set out plans to merge it with another at Melville Road, subject to a 12-week consultation ending on September 16.

But a petition to save Brunswick's post office has gathered 5,000 signatures, which can be found in local shops or online - and residents are determined to save it.

On Monday (August 17), the Save Brunswick Post Office campaign will meet post office managers at the Cornerstone Community Centre, Palmeira Square, from 7pm.

The meeting will be chaired by Hove MP Peter Kyle, who backs the local campaign to keep the post office open.

Mr Kyle said: ''I'm especially concerned that the more vulnerable, those without access to transport and the elderly will become poorly served. I'm conscious that people with children and those who commute will also have difficulty in accessing post office services if the closure goes ahead.''

Paul Sweetman, who runs City Books (next to the post office), said it is ''extremely busy'' and closing the branch would be ''very bad news for residents''.

He said there were concerns for the elderly, who would struggle to walk the one-mile uphill journey to Melville Post Office.

The Post Office said: ''The number of customers using Western Road Crown Office has declined in recent years and this situation is continuing; consequently the branch is not commercially sustainable. There are four branches within a mile of Western Road Crown Office. We believe the majority of customers will continue to access Post Office services at Melville Road Crown Office, Brighton Post Office and Hove Post Office, all of which have existing capacity to manage increased customer footfall.''

If the merger does go ahead, the Brunswick branch would close by January 2016.