YATE’S MP is demanding answers from the Post Office after it announced plans that put the town’s main branch at risk of closure.
The Yate Sodbury branch at South Parade in Yate Shopping Centre is one of 115 across the country owned directly by the Post Office.
The state-owned retail company says its Directly Managed Branches, also known as Crown post offices, are loss-making and it is “considering the future” of the operation.
While it insists no announcement has been made about any individual branch, it is talking to unions about “future options” as it wants to move to a franchise-only network.
That has set alarm bells ringing with people who rely on the branch for a range of services from stamps and parcels to pensions, banking, bill payments and passport checks.
A Post Office spokesperson confirmed the Yate Sodbury branch was on the list of affected branches, along with those in Stroud and Gloucester, although she insisted no announcement had been made about any individual branch’s future.
‘Loss-making’
The spokesperson said: “We are considering a range of options to reduce our central costs.
“This includes considering the future of our remaining Directly Managed Branches, which are loss-making.
“We have long held a publicly-stated ambition to move to a fully franchised network and we are in dialogue with the unions about future options for the DMBs.”
‘A huge blow’
Thornbury & Yate MP Claire Young has vowed to fight the closure and has written to Post Office chief executive Nick Read to demand answers to a series of questions about the move.
She said: “It is deeply worrying to hear that the Post Office in Yate is potentially up for closure.
“This would be a huge blow for both Yate and Sodbury, which have seen many banks shut up shop in recent years.
“While the Post Office claims no decisions have been made, many will feel that this decision has already been taken behind closed doors with no public consultation.