Ealing Central and Acton MP, Dr Rupa Huq, has cut the ribbon at a new Post Office on Acton High Street, joined by her sister, former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq.
The opening restores postal services to the town centre after seven years without a dedicated Post Office branch, with the new outlet based inside Chatime cafe.
The launch follows the closure of the Crown Post Office in 2018 and the short-lived relocation to Budgens on Gunnersbury Lane in 2021. Since then, residents and local politicians have campaigned to bring it back. In 2024, the Post Office advertised for an operator to run a Local franchise on the High Street, with applications closing last July.
That process has led to the arrival of a new outlet at Chatime, 96 High Street. The cafe, opened in May by entrepreneur Hamid Abdulwahid Hamid, serves bubble tea and other drinks and now hosts Post Office services throughout its trading hours, offering 75 hours of access each week.
Dr Huq said: “This is great news that there is a Post Office in Acton. The two work well alongside each other. This is an exciting new meeting hub in the community and with vital Post Office services. The daily opening hours make it easy for people with busy lives to pop in.”
She added: “I’d excitedly mentioned to my sister, Konnie, about the new Post Office in Acton, and she kindly agreed to join me at the official opening event.”
Mr Hamid said customers had already embraced the branch. “I established the bubble tea and other drinks side of the café first, then I was ready to add the Post Office, which people are really happy with. Now I will take on an employee, which will allow me to serve food in the café too.”
The new “local” style branch is integrated into the retail counter, offering bill payments, cash withdrawals, postage and collection of online shopping. It complements a Post Office banking hub at The Oaks shopping centre, which opened in 2023.
Mohammed Islam, Post Office area change manager, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for customers to pay their bills, withdraw cash from their bank accounts, and send and collect their mail at a time and place that suits them best. We know how important our services are to customers, and we are confident that this brand-new Post Office will ensure people in this area of Acton have easy access.”
