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A POST office in West Leeds has shut its doors after bosses failed to find someone willing to run it.
The branch in Armley’s Town Street has closed after a year-long campaign to get a new sub-postmaster to take it over.
The YEP reported last year that United Co-op, which held the franchise until now, had decided to terminate its contract with Post Office Ltd for “commercial reasons”.
After locals protested, the firm agreed to hang on until an alternative franchisee could be found.
But now they have admitted defeat after talks with several interested parties fell through.
However bosses insist it is a temporary closure and the search for a new franchisee continues.
Bill Earnshaw, field change adviser for the Post Office, said: “Unfortunately, a replacement subpostmaster has not been appointed so the branch will close on a temporary basis.
“We apologise for the inconvenience this will undoubtedly cause but I can assure our customers that we will be doing all we can to restore service as soon as possible.”
Armley Labour councillor Alison Lowe, who spearheaded a campaign to keep the post office open, said: “We are marshalling our forces and intend to start a petition.”
She claimed complications over a five-year lease had scuppered one potential deal and the costs were also putting people off.
Costs
According to the Post Office Ltd website, branch franchisees pay a non-negotiable, one-off fee based on £5,000 per branch plus £2,000 per counter position required.
Sources at the Co-Op have told the YEP in the past that it was costing £40,000 to run the Armley Town Street branch.
A post-office spokesman explained branches like Armley are managed by subpostmasters or franchisees on behalf of Post Office Ltd., with the costs of paying the staff and overheads such as heating
and lighting being their own responsibility.
They also receive a reimbursement for providing post office services but the amount is “commercially confidential information”, he said.
A spokesman from the National Federation of Sub Postmasters said the costs as well as uncertainty surrounding the post office network in general were big factors in putting people off buying a
franchise.
With the Town Street branch closed, Armley people will now have to trek to Bramley or Wortley, their nearest alternative branches.
One disappointed user, pensioner Catherine Whelan, 69, said she felt let down by the closure and would now have to make double her previous journey to collect her pension and pay her bills.
“I would have preferred the post office to stay open,” she said.
“It’s handy for everything.
“There are lots of elderly people who depend on it.”
If you are interested in running the Armley post office and can provide suitable, alternative premises, call 0845 601 6260.
Source Yorkshire Evening Post
10 January 2008
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Petition vow as Armley post office shuts its doors
