Chiswick Post Office Store Needs Another New 'Makeover'

Hounslow Council says the new shop signs must be removed

The refurbishment of Chiswick Post Office which included bright outdoor signs for the new convenience store on the site has run into trouble with Hounslow Council's Planning department.

The Council has ordered that the prominent outdoor signage for the Premier store and off licence must be taken down.

A Council enforcement notice on a lamp post close to the post office, dated 3 April, says the signage must be removed within 28 days. An official "opening" of the store which was due to take place next week has now been postponed .

The new-look Post Office

The Council notice says the display is in contravention of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 2007.

The signs will have to be taken down and the application resubmitted to the Council's Planning Department.

The Council notice states that it wants the two projecting signs beneath the shop front fascia, 12 poster panels on the base of the shop front, four posters on the shop front, 1 sign located above the doorway, and three fasicia signs with illuminatiions to be removed - the signs to be removed are circled in red on a photograph of the post office placed on the lamp post at Heathfield Terrace by the Council

The Post Office as it was

The change in the Chiswick post office which was refurbished in February is part of a three-year project which sees 6,000 branches, or about half the network- changing to a new style interior.

The post office said at the time this plan would offer a more open-plan environment, longer opening hours, and allow some of the post office services to be available from the retail counter during the shop opening hours."

On 8 February 2013, Post Office Ltd announced it was planning to move around 70 of its Crown Post Offices into shops. This would reduce the Crown network, which it stated was losing £40 million a year, to around 300. The Premier network with over 2,800 stores nationwide is operated by cash and carry wholesaler Booker whose logo and colours appear outside the shops and post offices.

The opening hours displayed on the front of the Chiswick post office after the refurbishment caused some confusion for locals who were unclear whether they referred to the post office, or the convenience store. There had also been criticisms of the new exterior by some local people.

(The post office counters opening hours are Mon-Sat 0900-1730 (closed Sundays) while some post office services are available at the shop counter - opening hours Mon-Friday- 0700-2100 and Sat/Sun 0700-1800.)

The signage is to be taken down by contractors next week and the illumination of the signs is off.

Chiswickw4.com has spoken to the owners of the Premier shop - they do not wish to comment.

April 24, 2014