Activists formed a long queue and sang ‘Return to Sender’ to protest against plans for the crown Post Offices to be franchised out to private companies.

Residents sang Elvis Presley’s “Return to Sender” and “Postman Pat” as they formed an orderly queue down Topsfield Parade and Muswell Hill Broadway, calling for the Post Offices to remain public, at a demonstration on Saturday.

The Post Office is reviewing plans for the two Post Offices to be transformed into private franchises.

This would be subject to a six-week consultation, but a date has not yet been set.

Communication Workers Union officials fear the Post Offices could close if no franchisee is found, or they will be vulnerable to closure if they are sold off down the line.

Hornsey resident and organiser Sue Hughes said: “It was our Post Office and now it’s being sold off to private companies who want to make a profit.”

She is concerned a new owner could move the Post Offices down the street, where there would not be such good disabled access and people might struggle to find parking.

Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, has written to Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, calling for a meeting, but she is yet to hear back.

“I’d like to take a delegation of Hornsey pensioners [Hornsey Pensioner Action Group] to meet him,” she said.

“The thing about crown Post Offices is they have all functions. In this day and age it’s very important to have identity checks. It’s dependent on a new franchise whether they want them.”

The Post Office announced last year it had plans to transfer the management of 40 crown post offices into private hands and close three more.

- Petition to keep the Post Offices public: change.org/p/post-office-keep-post-offices-in-muswell-hill-and-crouch-end