Closure of Witney Post Office

Tue 14 May 2013, 18:46 (last edited on Tue 14 May 2013, 18:48)

Jon, There's loads of information here: www.cwu.org/the-future-of-the-post-office.html

Follow the links for more information, especially the one about the 'locals' model. Witney is a Crown Post Office, & provides services that are not available in many of the smaller branches (such as passport checking or foreign currency on demand).

It's a mistake to suppose that the kind of franchising model would be similar to the one that operates in Charlbury or Finstock (which are not, in fact, franchises, but Sub Post Offices).

The franchise system for the Crown Post Offices seems instead to be similar to the locals model, whereby post office services are provided as a secondary function in shops such as convenience stores, petrol stations, newsagents or supermarkets.

Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's and the Co-op have expressed interest in the 76 Crown Post Offices that are up for sale across the UK. There are rotten customer reports for places where the main Post Office has already moved into large stores. See the reports on the relocation of the P.O. in Brighton to within W.H. Smith, where the queues are now much longer than they were before.

Given how crowded the existing Witney Post office is & how cramped are the in-town supermarkets & W.H. Smith's, the concern would be that the Post Office would move out to somewhere like Sainsbury's -- producing difficulties for town traders, the disabled, & for all those who do not drive.

The only other post office in Witney is out of the centre of town, off Curbridge Road, & does not offer all the services found in the High St branch. Cogges & Newland have closed in the last few years. Hence the CAB's & the WODC's interest in making representations against the sell-off.

Yes, the petition is not very well worded & there are insufficient staff in the present Witney Post Office. But given that the aim is for all the Post Offices to have been sold off in time for the privatisation of the Royal Mail to be completed by April 2014, there's no time to wait for a better petition!