The Post Office is planning to close its Eastcote Branch in Field End Road and move services inside the high street's gift shop Forget Me Not.

The plans involve the shop, in the centre of Field End Road, minimising the gift side of the business so one half can be used for the Post Office services.

The entire store will be completely refitted to include the new modern Post Office which will be staffed by fully trained post office workers.

A six week public consultation on the planned moves began this week and will close on August 20.

The Post Office plans to make the move in October.

In June last year, Post Office workers walked out on strike across the country over the decision by the company to franchise or close 76 branches, and install a four-year pay freeze.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) from the Eastcote office braved the rain to lobby passers-by, and said they were overwhelmed with the level of support.

In less than three hours, more than 300 people signed a petition opposing the Post Office’s plans to downgrade the service in Eastcote.

The CWU representative for Eastcote, Dave Smith, said at the time: "It’s no secret that the service does suffer. Franchised offices don’t offer the range of services as Crown offices.

"Many people working in a franchise don’t earn as much, and the priority of a retailer is their shop, not the post office."

This week it was announced that Pimlico Post Office was saved from closure after a year long campaign by the community and politicians.

The Post Office says it will host a customer forum in the coming weeks where people will be invited to hear more about the proposed relocation. The details of the event will be finalised soon.

In the meantime you can respond to the public consultation by visiting the Post Office website here.