Post Office Gives Formal Notice of Chiswick Branch Closure
Looking at 'options available' to restore services
Local councillors and residents protesting against the closure. Picture: Cllr Peter Thompson
June 1, 2025
Post Office Ltd has given formal notice of the closure of its Chiswick branch 25 days after counters at the branch first shut.
This begins a four-week statutory consultation into postal services in the area. The Post Office has said it is ‘looking at options’ for reopening but has given no indication of what the might be or any schedule for the branch to restart operations.
The announcement was made on Friday 30 May and Post Office Ltd has written to elected representatives for the area asking them to share information about the closure and the consultation.
The letter apologises for the ‘late notification’ which comes nearly four weeks after the branch was closed ‘due to operational reasons’.
It continues, “We are working hard to keep any period of closure to a minimum and we are currently investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community. In exploring this, it is important that any future service is
sustainable for the person operating the service, and for Post Office Limited.”
Cllr Peter Thompson, who leads the Conservative group on Hounslow Council, also received a response from the letter he sent to Post Office on 27 May. It contained the additional information that the reasons for the unplanned closure were ‘confidential’. Cllr Thompson was assured that the Post Office was ‘looking at the options available to restore Post Office services as soon as possible.’
Investigations by ChiswickW4.com suggest that the franchisee running the branch at Heathfield Terrace was struggling to make the business viable. Local councillors have urged support for the sub postmaster such as reduced rent and the ability to sub-let within the premises. If the existing business cannot be revived, the Post Office is likely to find it difficult to identify a new franchisee willing to take the branch on as the building is widely expected to be redeveloped in the next few years. The Chiswick branch was believed to be operating on a rolling short-term lease. The alternative of the Post Office running the branch directly itself also appears unlikely as it has not opened a Crown Post Office for many years and has recently had a programme of closing them.
The nearest alternative Post Offices are all more than a mile away at King Street in Hammersmith, Askew Road in Starch Green and The Vale in Acton. There is also a Banking Hub in The Oaks Shopping Centre in Acton for personal and business banking customers.
“This isn’t just about inconvenience,” said Cllr Peter Thompson. “It’s about trust, transparency, and basic respect for a community that depends on these services. Shutting down a branch without warning, refusing to explain why, and then taking nearly four weeks to notify us is totally unacceptable.”
“This is not good enough,” added Cllr Joanna Biddolph. “I can’t count the number of people who have stopped me in the ward and said how badly they have been affected by this unannounced closure, saying they are extremely worried about the post office ever opening again. Chiswick residents deserve better than this from Post Office Ltd. They need certainty, not corporate waffle.”
Cllr Thompson said he would be taking this further and his party is delivering leaflets to Chiswick residents and businesses, encouraging more people to sign the petition to reopen the branch which already has more than 2,000 signatures.
The consultation on the closure runs until 27 June and you can give comments and find further information by visiting Post Office Ltd.’s consultation page.
The delivery office at 1 Heathfield Terrace remains open as that is operated by Royal Mail.
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