Aylesbury MP calls for 'urgent alternative' ahead of impending Post Office closure
Aylesbury’s MP has called on the Post Office to find an alternative town centre site for its counter ahead of the closure of its central counter.
The Bucks Herald confirmed with the Post Office last week that its Aylesbury High Street counter is set to close next month.
A spokesperson for the distribution service confirmed that the post office will close on August 18. It has also been announced that the Post Office counter in Jansel Square, Bedgrove, is permanently closing on August 1.
This will leave Aylesbury with four post office counters but none within its town centre. The Post Office said last week that it has fielded offers from Aylesbury businesses interested in filling the town centre vacancy and is in the process of reviewing applications.
In a Facebook video recorded outside the high street unit the Post Office currently uses, Laura Kyrke-Smith said: “Lots of you have written to me with concerns about the Post Office shutting down and I’m really worried about it too.
"It’s thanks to this place that anyone got any Christmas cards from me, so I know how important it is for all of us here. I’ve written to the Government minister responsible for the Post Office. I’ve also written to the Post Office itself and I’m asking them urgently to find some alternative provision. We can’t have Aylesbury town centre with no post office that’s clear.”
The closure of the town centre counter was confirmed after TG Jones won High Court approval to shut down up to 150 of its shops. Sources with knowledge of operations at TG Jones neither confirmed or denied the closure date or that the Aylesbury unit is one of 150 shops it is planning to close in the UK, last week.
Modella Capital, which purchased the high street arm of WH Smith’s wider brand last year, said it was facing insolvency if it did not restructure its business and it was facing an £8 million shortfall.
Bedgrove’s Post Office was situated inside a Morrison’s Daily shop, the retail company is closing down 100 of its stores. Industry reports suggest the 100 stores that were selected for closure were ‘loss-making’ ventures. Closing properties is part of a wider restructuring plan.