The Newbury-based social landlord is objecting to the proposed closure of Greenham Court Post Office, which serves more than 350 tenants of the Nightingales estate, including 36 elderly residents, who use the office to cash pensions and other benefits.

Royal Mail is planning to close four of Newbury’s eight post offices – one in Thatcham is also under threat – and is ‘consulting’ with local communities about the impact.

Sovereign’s Head of Regeneration Martin John says: “The Nightingales is the most deprived area of West Berkshire, where we have been working closely with the residents for over two years to foster a new sense of community. To see that work undermined by this thoughtless proposal is very worrying for everyone concerned.”

Sovereign is enlisting the help of local MP David Rendel and local councillors to fight the proposals, and is supporting residents with their petition to the Post Office. As the Association also owns the shop the post office is in, Sovereign will be negotiating with the shopkeeper/subpostmaster to see if a stay of execution can be reached.

Elsewhere, elderly residents at Speenhamland Court will also have to walk half a mile further to collect pensions from Cheap Street under the new proposals, along with tenants in Speen, who have been using Speenhamland Post Office since their post office on Bath Road shut in May.

Councillors will be pressing the Royal Mail about their plans at a meeting in Newbury on Wednesday, and Sovereign intends to make local politicians fully aware of how tenants feel about this loss. We will also write directly to Royal Mail.