Concerned Pinner residents feel the decision to relocate the town’s post office has “already been made”.

The Post Office is weighing up whether to move from its current Pinner headquarters on Bridge Street into the nearby WHSmith store.

Pinner Association chairman Warwick Hillman and honourary secretary Ruth Boff attended a public consultation meeting at Pinner Methodist Hall on Tuesday August 16, discussing the proposal with other interested parties.

“It was felt that the ‘consultation’ was held merely as a courtesy to the local population, and that the decision to relocate to WHSmith had obviously already been made,” said Mrs Boff.

“It was questioned why no representatives from WHSmith or Royal Mail were available to be questioned at the consultation.”

Members of the Pinner Association had previously analysed the relocation and agreed there were pros and cons to the proposal.

They favoured the longer opening hours at the new location, which will include Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings, deeming them more convenient for those working full time.

Shorter and level walking access from the south side of Pinner, and added footfall to the WHSmith store were also suggested as positive points.

However concerns were raised about the future use of the “attractive” Pinner Post Office building by Royal Mail, and a potential loss of footfall and vitality to businesses in the upper part of Bridge Street.

They also questioned whether the relocation was the first step in Royal Mail vacating its current lodgings and selling the building to be redeveloped into town centre flats, arguing there were already a great number in the area.

Residents regretted that the traditional use of the attractive Pinner Post Office was to change, but conceded the Post Office had limited finances and had to make cost-cutting decisions in order to maintain its service.

The proposal for Pinner forms part of nationwide changes to help the Post Office “secure the viability of its services into the future and maintain its presence on the high street”.

“We are committed to keeping our services on high streets which we know is hugely important to people,” said Roger Gale, general manager of the Post Office Crown Network.

“We need to make changes so that we can continue to do that in the future.”

Existing staff at the current branch have the right to transfer their employment to WHSmith if they wish to do so, in line with employment legislation.