Hundreds queue to save Littlehampton post office

Labour supporters (from left) Derek Lansdale, Alan Butcher and George ONeill urge people to sign the petition

In just 90 minutes on Saturday morning (April 6), about 400 people added their names to the petition started by the Littlehampton Labour party.

People of all ages, from families with young children, to pensioners, told how they relied on the post office and wanted it to stay where it has been for decades.

Party members set up a stall near the town clock in the pedestrian precinct, decorated with posters accusing Post Office management of “ripping the Crown out of the heart of the town”.

They were rewarded with a constant stream of people eager to sign up.

Elizabeth Hutchings, of St Catherine’s Court, said: “Everything is being taken over by something big and expensive. They should keep things in the community.

“Where is it going to go? If it goes to somewhere like Tesco, out of town, older people won’t be able to get there without going on the bus.”

George Stocker, of Harwood Road, wanted the post office to stay in its current, central position. “It’s easy to get to, and when there is a queue outside, which you get on Mondays, it’s under cover.”

Laura Callaway, of Bell Davies Road, was worried about the impact of the post office becoming empty, with other shops already vacant.

“I go in there to pay my gas bill and it’s very convenient. I wouldn’t want to see it moved elsewhere,” she added.

Town and Arun Labour councillor Mike Northeast said: “I’m fed up with facilities in Littlehampton being closed and even pulled down, like the hospital, the Dairy Community Centre and our cinema, before alternative provision or new venues have been built or at least started.

“This attack on our post office is privatisation by the back door.

“The support we got in the town on Saturday proved that local residents also feel like this. People see this as yet another attack on our way of life and moving the post office out of The Arcade would deliver a fatal blow to that end of town.”

Labour supporters are collecting more signatures on most Saturdays in April. Names can also be added by email at [email protected] on the Littlehampton United Facebook page.

The Post Office confirmed last month that Littlehampton’s was one of 70 Crown branches identified as having the potential to move into premises shared with “partners”.