Northbourne: the post office and Ashridge Parade

Image: © Chris Downer Taken: 17 Jul 2008

Northbourne's post office is in Ashridge Parade, Wimborne Road, and is one of two Bournemouth branches due for closure in 2008. With 2,500 offices closing nationally this year, that figure may imply that Bournemouth has got off lightly, but the town was particularly badly hit in the 2004 closures, with a dozen out of around 36 being axed at that time – thus, the town has few branches that could now be deemed surplus to requirements. With Dorset's being the 36th of the 42 regional closure plans to be announced, with a six-week consultation period that started on July 15, we can see from previously completed plans that only in the extreme minority of cases is a U-turn likely and the branch retained. The few that have been saved thus far have been where the Post Office Ltd. has conceded a big misjudgement, or where there are future building plans in the area, or adverse changes to buses serving alternative branches, of which the Post Office had been previously unaware. Therefore, I think the demise of this branch will probably turn out to be confirmed in a few months' time. UPDATE: and indeed it was thus. The branch closed on 30 October 2008, while the nearest alternative at Redhill Drive put banners into its window display saying "Welcome to Redhill Drive Post Office" – a nice touch for their new customers.

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