New Zealand Post has not only ended postal services at a long running Linwood community hub, but a restraint of trade clause means no other provider can step in for 6 months.

Stanmore Books and Post, on Stanmore Road, offered postal services for 140 years.

For the past decade, the not for profit shop has been run by community trust Te Whare Roimata.

Christchurch East MP Reuben Davidson has been campaigning to keep its postal counter open.

“It’s been a community hub for Linwood, and much further afield. A lot of people have travelled to be part of that,” Davidson said.

New Zealand Post has been reviewing its post shops and suppliers across the country, and confirmed this week it was ending the supply of postal services to the shop.

“The signs have had to come down. People are no longer able to go there to use the postal services, send and receive things. That’s a real loss for that small, not for profit business at the heart of our Linwood community,” Davidson said.

There had been hope another operator could step in.

Davidson said there had been constructive conversations with potential operators willing to keep postal services running.

“New Zealand Post have said they’ll withdraw their service, but at the same time, there’s a restraint of trade, which means that the business, that little independent community run not for profit business, cannot engage any other supplier for a six month period,” he said.

Davidson is not challenging the contract itself and said he was pushing New Zealand Post at every level to reconsider.

“No one is debating that. But what I’m saying is that there should be some discretion here, when you’re talking about a small, not for profit community operation that is providing so much and such a hub for our Linwood community,” he said.

“A big state owned enterprise should be able to say, look, we see this clause, but we’re very happy to say we’re not going to come down on you if you go and get a new supplier, continue to serve your community, and thank you for the decades of service you’ve provided.”

Davidson spent time at the shop with the community on Friday, where a barbecue drew close to 100 people.

“There were people there who talked to me about the service and the connection that it provides for them, but also people who talk to me about the volunteer work they’ve done through that community hub,” he said.

“A lot of people talked to me about their adult children who’ve volunteered and found pathways back into work or gained confidence to enter the workforce.”

Davidson said New Zealand Post had given a strong indication it was unlikely to change its decision. He has now written to the minister.

“This needs to go to the highest level. This is a community hub doing good things, making good things happen in an area that really needs that. Why is a state owned enterprise getting in the way of that continuing?” he said.

“It’s yet another example of services disappearing from our Christchurch East communities,” Davidson said.

In a statement, New Zealand Post Consumer General Manager Sarah Sandoval said “we understand these changes are disappointing for both the store and the local community.

“These are difficult decisions and we have not made them lightly. NZ Post is adapting to significant changes in customer behaviour and declining mail volumes, and we need to make changes to ensure our service is sustainable for the future.

 “We have been working with the team at this store over the past several weeks and doing everything we reasonably can to support them through this change. We recognise this is a very unique situation, which is why we have offered them financial support to help them manage the transition as they navigate what’s next.

“While I can’t get into detail about the specifics of any contracts, we believe we’re giving retail partners as much flexibility as we can to consider their future decisions. What we’re focused on is supporting the store through the removal of NZ Post services, which is front of mind for us” Sandoval said.