A petition has been launched calling on New Zealand Post to reverse its decision to close the staffed counter at Sockburn.

A notice inside the centre said staffed services would end on 10 November.

PO Box services will continue at the site, but customers wanting counter service will be directed to a new hub on Moorhouse Avenue.

The change was discovered by former community board member and Riccarton advocate Luke Chandler, while he was collecting mail.

“Western Christchurch deserves better, and together, we can demand better,” Chandler said.

The loss was bigger than one neighbourhood counter because Sockburn served residents and businesses across the west and southwest of the city, Chandler said.

The petition argues the site is well placed because it has established public transport links to Hornby, Wigram, Halswell, Hei Hei, Riccarton and Avonhead, as well as communities further west. Those links mattered most to older residents, people with limited mobility and people without cars, Chandler said.

“A service may appear close enough when measured on a map, but distance is not the same as accessibility.”

The decision also failed to account for continued population growth in areas such as Halswell and the demand that brings for parcel, postal and returns services, Chandler said.

Sockburn sits within the Waipuna Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton Community Board area. “I’m really disappointed and surprised to see NZ Post closing its shop in Sockburn. The store was upgraded just three or four years ago to better serve the community with more services,” board member Cody Cooper told chrislynchmedia.com.

Postal services across the west of the city had already been progressively reduced over a number of years, including in Burnham, Templeton, Hei Hei, Ilam and Wigram, Cooper said.

He learned of the closure only after Chandler contacted him about the notice. “What I find particularly shocking is that, as far as I can tell, there has been no public announcement and no consultation with the community about shutting up shop in Sockburn.”

“Unless you happened to turn up there, you may have had no idea that from 11 November you will instead be expected to travel to Moorhouse Avenue.”

“Sockburn was at least reasonably accessible to Hornby, with frequent bus services, but Moorhouse Avenue is a significant trip, even more so from Templeton.”

The petition notes NZ Post owns the Sockburn property, and asks the company to explain why a staffed counter cannot operate alongside the PO Boxes it plans to keep there.

It calls on NZ Post to retain staffed counter services, develop the Sockburn site as a postal hub for the west and southwest of the city, and assess the decision against customer demand, journey times and public transport connections.

It also calls for NZ Post to publish the local evidence behind the decision, and to consult residents, businesses and community organisations before the counter closes.

“This petition is not opposed to modernisation. It asks NZ Post to plan for Christchurch’s future in a fair, practical and accessible way,” Chandler said.

“Western Christchurch is growing, not disappearing. Its staffed postal services should reflect the needs of the community now and in the future.”

NZ Post has been approached for comment.