New post office opens in Clapham with postal and banking services
A new post office has opened in Clapham Park Road, restoring vital services to the community.
The branch, located at 82-84 Clapham Park Road, was officially opened by Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill.
The new post office offers a modern, open-plan retail environment and is open 56 hours a week.
This new branch will provide a range of services, including bill payment, cash withdrawals, foreign currency, postage, and home shopping collections and returns.
Clapham Park welcomes new post office after closure sparks local campaign. (Image: Post Office) Customers of the main UK banks can also access their accounts at the new branch, restoring banking services to the area.
The branch also features an eye-catching mural on the post office shutters, which can be admired after hours.
The opening of the new post office follows the closure of the directly managed branch at Clapham Common in March 2024.
The premises at 161-163 Clapham High Street were deemed unsustainable due to the need for investment.
The new Clapham Park Road post office is run by a highly experienced and well-regarded postmaster family, the Shahs.
Shah family unveils vibrant new post office with mural tribute to Sox (Image: Post Office)
Krishan Shah, a second-generation postmaster, leads the family, who have been running busy London post offices since 1987.
The branch has four post office counters, one full-screened, two open-plan, and a post office counter alongside the retail counter of the cards and stationery store.
This is large enough to meet the needs of the community.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP said: "The closure of Clapham Common Post Office was a real blow to our community.
"The decision to close this busy branch attracted widespread local opposition and triggered a community campaign to protect local postal services.
"I welcome the opening of the new Clapham Park Post Office, which will provide a wide range of services to plug this gap.
"I want to thank postmaster Krishan Shah and his family for their big investment into the new branch, which looks great inside and out with some fantastic artwork on the shutters."
The Clapham Park Road branch offers a wide range of post office services, including driving licence renewals, ID verification, and vehicle tax renewal, excluding passports.
With no banks in the area after four closures in recent years, the branch provides a convenient location for businesses and residents to do their everyday banking and withdraw cash during the post office's opening hours.
Customers can also post letters and parcels, and collect and return online shopping items.
Noah Rai, Post Office Area Change Manager, said: "We're delighted Clapham Park Road Post Office has opened.
"It's operated by a well-respected independent postmaster family.
"With no banks or ATMs in this vicinity, it provides a convenient location for businesses and residents to do their everyday banking and for people to withdraw cash during the Post Office's opening hours.
"It provides a wide range of Post Office services."
The premises were formerly a shisha bar and have been completely refurbished to create spacious, modern premises with new lighting, counters, shelving, and flooring.
The mural on the shutters, an anti-graffiti deterrent, was painted by a professional artist with Post Office-themed artwork, co-designed with the postmaster's wife, Aarti.
It features a black and white cat, similar to Jess from Postman Pat, but it is their oldest cat, called Sox, who is 16 years old.
Krishan Shah said: "We love cats.
"As our family's originally from Kenya, we could have featured big cats, but it tied in nicely to feature our black and white cat in the Post Office-themed mural.
"The community really loves it.
"They admire it when they pass by out of hours.
"It's a real talking point."
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