A week after sealing the fate of thousands of branches, Post Office Ltd has infuriated residents and politicians by adding a popular office surrounded by care homes and schools to its closure list.

The Moatfield post office, in Harcourt Road, Bushey, was not in the original consultation but has been added after four offices were retained in Buckinghamshire and Essex, the nearest of which is some 20 miles away.

Hertsmere MP James Clappison said he was “furious” at the decision and said the retained post offices had nothing to do with Bushey. He also demanded that the previous consultation, which led to the forthcoming closure of a branch in Bushey Hall Road, be repeated as it had unfairly led residents to believe the Moatfield branch would be kept open.

He said: “This makes a complete fiasco of the whole consultation process. It is absolutely despicable that they are considering closing this office.”

The newly-threatened office is next to four old people’s care homes, opposite a primary school and near a special needs school for children with physical disabilities. A major development of hundreds of homes and a handover of dozens of former Ministry of Defence properties is also taking place near the site.

Pointing to a queue of customers, piles of parcels and bags of letters, Mukund Brahambhatt, the owner of the office said he could hardly believe the Post Office had considered the closure.

He said: “They said we were safe and now they want to suddenly change their minds because of some post office in Essex. What has that got to do with us?

“What worries me is the old people. They can hardly walk, let alone drive to another post office.

“The bus is up a hill and comes only every half an hour. If there is traffic in Watford it gets cancelled so people are waiting there for an hour in the winter. My daughter used to get the bus but it’s so unreliable that it’s better to walk.”

George Charlett, 82, who served in the army for 55 years, is one of the branch’s many regular customers. He said the loss of the popular office would kill off a “thriving” parade of shops and remove a lifeline for many local people who, like himself, have mobility problems.

Another regular, Sylvia Wilmot, of Bushey Heath, said: “I see people struggling with their trolleys up that hill and my heart goes out to them. The whole road is uphill – how are they going to manage if this office gets taken away? When is it going to finish? It’s going to destroy the area and be the most disastrous thing.”

Mr Brahambhatt, known as “MB” to residents, said the office was a central part of the community and had been for decades.

He said: “The children from the schools come in to learn about what a post office is. The community and post office are like a family.”

Councillor Morris Bright, leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, joined the uproar against the decision.

He said: “We will be voicing a strong objection to the proposed closure of Moatfield post office in Bushey and can only hope that this time the Post Office will listen.

“It wasn’t in the original proposals and seems to have been put forward for closure now because other branches outside of Hertsmere are staying open. This appears to be about money not fairness or common sense.”

Post Office Ltd representative Nick Martins said the office had been picked out as it was “next on the list”, the reasons for this being given on Tuesday, September 2, the first day of the new consultation.

Mr Martin said: “If there are old people’s homes in the area that is one of the things we could consider.

“The fact that we have reprieved four post offices should be seen as showing we are listening to what people say.”

He added that the previous consultation was completed and would not be repeated for the Bushey Hall Road office.