Felpham residents launch "urgent campaign" to save beloved village post office

The appeal comes after the post office, in Limmer Lane, went on sale in August this year.

Felpham has been home to a post office since 1847, and residents see it as the “heart of the village”, providing a range of essential services.

Afraid that the sale could lead to the loss of a beloved asset, a community-led organisation dubbed the Friends of Felpham is working hard to scrape together the funds needed to buy the facility wholesale.

"Our Post Office provides many essential services, not least banking,” a spokesperson said. “At the time when many major banks are shutting their doors in Bognor, the Post Office closure would leave many people, especially the elderly, with no safe and friendly place to bank. The Village Post Office is the hub of the village. People meet to chat, inside and out. There are pop-ups selling, among other things, delicious food, fragrant plants and crafts.”

Using donations, sponsorships and match funding, the Friends believe they can buy the post office and put it to work for the community. Even more than that, they hope to make it even more special. Excess funds, the friends have said, will be used to improve the post office’s onsite facilities, expand the range of services offered, and create provision for more business ventures, including cabins for craft and artisan businesses.

To The Friends, and to many Felpham residents, this is a do or die situation. Failing to save the post-office could mean failing to save Felpham itself.

"This is not just Felpham’s story. It’s happening across the region. Lose the Post Office and the village will die taking other businesses with it, becoming a collection of houses, not a close-knit, supportive community,” a spokesperson said.

Determined to make sure that doesn’t happen, the Friends have launched a gofundme with a £1 million target, of which they have already raised more than £3,000.

Residents eager to learn more are invited to a public meeting on November 8 at 7pm, in the St Mary’s Centre in Felpham.

"This is a vital story of a community coming together to help itself,” a Friends of Felpham spokesperson added. “Residents working to keep the vibrant spirit of their village alive.”