Hampshire And The Isle Of Wight Post Office®Branch Decision – Decision announced on Whitsbury Post Office following additional consultation
Post Office Ltd today announced a decision on the future of the final Post Office® branch proposed for closure in the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight plan following a six week public consultation which ended 3 March. Post Office® services across the area will be provided through a network of 300 branches, which supports the national accessibility criteria introduced by the Government and ensures that over 99% of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s population will either see no change to their existing branch or will remain within one mile (by road distance) of an alternative branch.
In a decision announcement made by Post Office Ltd on 9 January it was confirmed that Goodworth Clatford Post Office branch, originally proposed for closure would remain open. In the same announcement Post Office Ltd confirmed consultation on a new proposal that instead of replacing Whitsbury Post Office branch with an outreach service, the branch should close without a replacement outreach being established. The branch has very few customers making it very difficult for an outreach service to be viable for a core Sub postmaster. With no other retail outlets in the community, residents already leave the area for their wider shopping needs.
After reviewing the feedback received during consultation on this new proposal Post Office Ltd has decided to proceed with the closure of Whitsbury Post Office Branch.
The decision has been reached after public consultation and Postwatch, the consumer body representing Post Office® customers, has verified the correct consultation procedures were followed.
Full details of all the decisions made in relation to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight area plan and the issues raised during local public consultation are available by visiting www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange or by writing to Post Office Ltd at Freepost Consultation Team (no stamp needed) or by emailing [email protected]
Tim Nickolls, Post Office Ltd’s Network Development Manager for Hampshire and The Isle of Wight, said: “The decision to close any branch is a difficult one and is not taken lightly. We considered very carefully all the comments made during public consultation. We believe that the decision announced today on the future of Whitsbury branch and the amended plan announced in January offers our customers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight the best prospect for a sustainable network in the future, bearing in mind the Government’s minimum access criteria and the other factors they have asked us to consider.”
