Town council to explore possible post office locations

Story posted on January 3, 2023

WESTBURY Town Council are set to look at potential locations in the town where a post office could operate from.

The move follows the announcement that McColl’s in the High Street, which contains the town centre post office, is set to close this month. If a suitable location is found, a retailer will still need to step forward to provide the service. Town councillors have suggested that this may be difficult due to the business model of a post office.

At a meeting of the town council’s policy and resources committee, held on Monday 5th December, councillors agreed to set up a post office task and finish group to find a suitable location in the town

Speaking at the meeting, cllr Mike Sutton said, “I remember the last time we asked someone to look at possible post office locations; a lot of work was undertaken with no real results, as unfortunately, it is unlikely that any business will want to put a post office in the town as they are declining.

“I think we should look again at the banking hub initiative. The one I have seen recently up in the north has a different bank coming in each day to offer their services.”

Cllr Gordon King added, “Post offices don’t tend to boast huge profits, hence why the government separated them from the Royal Mail, but there is a strong need for a counter-service in the town. Nine out of ten post office services are also available online or in other places such as parcel points, but I understand that for many, these aren’t an option.

“Although we all want a post office in the town, finding a retailer that will be willing to add something on to their premises that would add minimal financial gain is going to be difficult, to say the least.”

Morrisons purchased the Westbury branch of McColl’s in May following the news that the convenience store chain was on the brink of collapse.

However, in November, they announced the closure of 132 of its stores, including Westbury’s. The remaining post office which is still operating in Westbury can be found at The Ham.

Pictured: The High Street post office.