A letter from Postwatch, the Consumer Council for Postal Services, to local MP John McDonnell

I have received a letter from Postwatch about the proposed relocation of Hayes Post Office. Postwatch is the indepedent organisation that protects consumer rights in the postal services.

Please see the letter below.


Dear Mr McDonnell,

Hayes Post Office Franchise

Thank you for copying us in on your letter of 20 June to Alan Cook, Post Office Ltd.

I am very concerned to learn that your letter of 3 May was not logged by Post Office Ltd (POL), and that your promised meeting with POL’s external relations team did not take place. Part of Postwatch’s role is to ensure meaningful consultation on proposed changes to the network, which cannot happen if responses are not properly recorded or if promises of meetings with stakeholders are not kept. I will take up these apparent failures with POL.

The Code of Practice for changes to the network is set out in the enclosed document, which I hope you will find helpful. Please let me know of any specific points on which POL have not followed the consultation process, for example, in the timing and distribution of information. However, it is important to note that the consultation is not on the proposal itself; that is a business decision which POL has already taken. Instead it is an opportunity for interested parties to raise specific concerns about the likely impact of this change on the quality of service.

While Postwatch recognises that many customers will not welcome the franchising of crown post office services, we also accept that, in view of falling business levels and the need for a commercially viable network, some such changes are necessary in order to preserve services in the long-term.

Hayes is one of fifteen crown post offices in London where POL proposes to enter into a franchise partnership with WHSmith. Postwatch Greater London will visit the site of every proposal, and submit its comments to POL before the end of the consultation period.

In Hayes, we were concerned about the amount of space to be allocated to post office services in WHSmith, and would like to have seen a floor plan made available. We were also concerned about the appearance of the new site, which I understand is currently less than ideal. We have raised these concerns with POL, and expect them, and others raised during the consultation process, to be given serious consideration before a final decision is announced.

We do not know if POL are aware of the regeneration initiative, and we will find out. It would be helpful if the local authority could ensure POL is fully briefed if they have not already.

I hope this is useful, but please let me know if you have any further enquiries.

Yours sincerely

Roger Darlington
Chairman, Postwatch Greater London

Local MP John McDonnell welcomes the Camp for Climate Action 2007

Earlier this month local MP John McDonnell attended and spoke at the Annual General Meeting of NoTRAG, the No Third Runway Action Group. NoTRAG is the umbrella organisation formed to co-ordinate the fight against a third parallel runway for Heathrow. It brings together local people, local residents associations, councillors, religious and community groups who are concerned about the impact a third runway will have on our community.

John McDonnell MP said “We really hope that as many local people as possible will accept our invitation to visit the Camp. Come to the meeting to find out more”.

The Camp for Climate Action have organised a

Public Meeting on Thursday July 19th, at 7.30pm in Sipson Community Centre, (Sipson Way, West Drayton, UB7 0DD)

This will give people the opportunity to find out more about the Camp and to talk to some of the people involved in its organisation about the practical reality of what the Camp will mean for local residents, neighbourhoods and the struggle against the runway. It also gives people the chance to get involved if they want to help.

The Camp for Climate Action aims to:

- help stop the disastrous plans for a third runway at Heathrow
- be an example of sustainable living, with the camp powered by renewable energy and all waste recycled
- have a lot of interesting workshops exploring ways to learn about and prevent climate chaos
- be a safe, family-friendly place open for everyone to enjoy

The Camp is organised entirely voluntarily and non-hierarchically – nobody is paid, and nobody is in charge. It is not affiliated with any political party, group or NGOs but aims to work together with everyone who shares the Camp’s goals.

The Camp for Climate Action chose to come to Heathrow partly because it is the only place in the country where a climate-wrecking development also threatens an entire community with total destruction. Scientists have made it clear that if we continue to expand airports and increase the numbers of flights as the government plans, the UK will definitely fail to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to safe levels in time to prevent catastrophic climate change. Heathrow is the worst example of these criminally irresponsible plans. The Camp’s protests intend to disrupt the aviation industry’s activities, in order to highlight the insanity of more airport expansion when we know for sure that this will mean we lose the fight against dangerous global warming. However, in the interests of public safety, the Camp has firmly committed to not block runways or interfere with planes.

The Camp for Climate Action hopes to see local residents at the public meeting in order to talk about how, together, all of us can make sure that BAA and the DfT's insane plans for a third runway at Heathrow are defeated once and for all.

Local MP John McDonnell said “I have welcomed the Camp for Climate Action 2007 to our constituency. Aviation emissions are a major contributor to global warming and the massive problems a third runway in Heathrow Airport would cause are well documented. This camp will raise awareness of both of these important issues and help us in the fight against them. For our area a third runway and inevitably a sixth terminal would destroy the villages surrounding Heathrow with the loss of 4000 homes either demolished or rendered unliveable by air pollution. We would lose at least three schools, churches and community centres, in fact whole communities would be destroyed.

The Government will commence formal consultations on the third runway in September. Our whole community should rise up in protest at this disastrous proposal”.

For further details about the Camp for Climate Action please go to www.climatecamp.org.uk or telephone 07794 624 591.