Post offices may be reopened under council subsidy plan (UK)

An agreement between the Post Office, the Government and local councils means that, in theory, every one of the 2,500 branches earmarked for closure under a cost-cutting plan could be saved.
Ministers ordered cuts to the network to reduce its GBP 150 million-a-year subsidy. However, councils have been looking for ways to avoid closures in the face of a growing public backlash.
The first post offices to be reprieved are in Essex, where the county council is expected to announce in the next 10 days that it has saved at least 15 of 31 branches closed this year.

The council has set aside up to GBP 1.5 million for the scheme. Some post offices will be reopened on the same premises, while pubs, cricket clubs, libraries and shops will become home to a post office in other cases.
The pilot has attracted interest from councils, with 100 local authorities contacting the Post Office. Half of those are already in talks to follow suit.
However, Alan Cook, the managing director of the Post Office, said the obstacles had been overcome. “We have got to the point where we have established a model that will work for local authority funding,” he said.
The news was welcomed by the postal watchdog. Howard Webber, the chief executive of Postwatch, said: “I feel qualified joy that there could be any extra post offices which offer more services to customers, providing it does not have a damaging impact on the post offices that are remaining in the network.”
Last year, the Government ordered Royal Mail, which owns the Post Office, to close 2,500 branches. By the middle of last week, 764 branches had been shut and 41 saved.
Earlier this month, post office managers told a Commons committee that a further 4,000 branches could be closed.

An agreement between the Post Office, the Government and local councils means that, in theory, every one of the 2,500 branches earmarked for closure under a cost-cutting plan could be saved.
Ministers ordered cuts to the network to reduce its GBP 150 million-a-year subsidy. However, councils have been looking for ways to avoid closures in the face of a growing public backlash, supported by a Daily Telegraph campaign.
The first post offices to be reprieved are in Essex, where the county council is expected to announce in the next 10 days that it has saved at least 15 of 31 branches closed this year.

The council has set aside up to GBP 1.5 million for the scheme. Some post offices will be reopened on the same premises, while pubs, cricket clubs, libraries and shops will become home to a post office in other cases.
The pilot has attracted interest from councils, with 100 local authorities contacting the Post Office. Half of those are already in talks to follow suit.
However, Alan Cook, the managing director of the Post Office, said the obstacles had been overcome. “We have got to the point where we have established a model that will work for local authority funding,” he said.
The news was welcomed by the postal watchdog. Howard Webber, the chief executive of Postwatch, said: “I feel qualified joy that there could be any extra post offices which offer more services to customers, providing it does not have a damaging impact on the post offices that are remaining in the network.”
Peter Luff, the chairman of the Commons’ business and enterprise committee, said that in theory the deal could lead to every threatened post office being saved. He added: “It puts the Government in a very difficult position if significant numbers of post offices reopen. How can they make the numbers add up? It calls into question the strategy of the closure process.”
Last year, the Government ordered Royal Mail, which owns the Post Office, to close 2,500 branches. By the middle of last week, 764 branches had been shut and 41 saved.
Earlier this month, post office managers told a Commons committee that a further 4,000 branches could be closed.