115 Post Office branches at risk of closure - see full list including North East sites
by PA, Sonia Sharma, Levi Winchester · ChronicleLiveMore than 100 Post Office branches and around 1,000 jobs are at risk under a major overhaul, it has been announced.
The Post Office has said it is looking to offload 115 directly-owned branches within its 11,500 network, which could see them transferred to retail partners or postmasters, or potentially closed. Around 1,000 workers are employed across the branches, while the Post Office also confirmed that hundreds of further roles are under threat at its headquarters as it looks to streamline back office operations.
A number of North East branches are among those at risk of being shut. Scroll down to see the full list of locations.
Post Office chairman Nigel Railton said the shake-up will also offer a "new deal for postmasters" by increasing their share of revenue and giving them a greater say in the running of the business as it looks to move on from the Horizon IT scandal that saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongfully convicted. The plans, which are subject to government funding, would see average branch pay doubled by 2030, with £120 million in additional pay by the end of the first year.
Mr Railton made the announcement at the company's headquarters in London on Wednesday in a speech to postmasters across the country, as well as retail partners and Post Office staff. He said: "The Post Office has a 360-year history of public service and today we want to secure that service for the future by learning from past mistakes and moving forward for the benefit of all postmasters. We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal."
He added the overhaul also "begins a new phase of partnership during which we will strengthen the postmaster voice in the day-to-day running and operations of the business, so they are represented from the frontline to the boardroom". It follows a strategic review launched by Mr Railton in May, but is reliant on funding talks with government, which the Post Office said were "positive and ongoing".
The government is also said to have been consulted on the possibility of handing ownership of the network to thousands of subpostmasters across the country. The 115 branches put at risk are Crown Post Offices located in city centres and staffed by Post Office employees. They are the only remaining branches directly owned by the Post Office, down from close to 400 in 2010.
A spokesman for the Post Office said: "The plan intends to create a new operating model for the business that means ensuring the Post Office has the right organisational design." The group insisted that aims are to franchise the branches or transfer ownership to other parties, such as its network of retail partners. Retailers such as WH Smith, Tesco, Morrisons and the Co-Op operate around 2,000 Post Offices across the country. The rest of the network - about 9,000 Post Offices - are operated by independent postmasters.
As part of the transformation, the Post Office is also setting up a new postmaster panel to increase support and training, as well as a consultative council "to ensure postmasters' interests remain front and centre". A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: "Post Offices are an integral part of the communities they serve and the services they provide for local people. The Government is in active discussion with Nigel Railton on his plans to put postmasters at the centre of the organisation and strengthen the Post Office network for its long-term future."
Full list of Post Office branches at risk of closure
- Aldwych
- Antrim
- Baker Street
- Bangor
- Barnes Green
- Barnet
- Belfast City
- Bexhill On Sea
- Bideford
- Birmingham
- Bransholme
- Breck Road
- Bridlington
- Brixton
- Broadway
- Caernarfon
- Cambridge City
- Canning Town
- Chester Le Street
- City of London
- Clapham Common
- Cosham
- Cricklewood
- Crossgates
- Croydon High Street
- Dereham
- Didsbury Village
- Dunraven Place
- East Dulwich
- Eccles
- Eccleston Street
- Edinburgh City
- Furness House
- Glasgow
- Gloucester
- Golders Green
- Great Portland Street
- Grimsby
- Haddington
- Hampstead
- Harlesden
- Harold Hill
- High Holborn
- Houndsditch
- Hyde
- Inverness
- Islington
- Kendal
- Kennington Park
- Kensington
- Kettering
- Kilburn
- Kingsbury
- Kingsland High Street
- Kirkwall
- Knightsbridge
- Leigh
- Leighton Buzzard
- Liskeard
- London Bridge
- Londonderry
- Lower Edmonton
- Lupus Street
- Manchester
- Matlock
- Melville Road
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Milton Keynes
- Morecambe
- Morley
- Mount Pleasant
- Mutley
- Nailsea
- Newquay
- Newtownards
- Northolt
- Old Swan
- Oswestry
- Oxford
- Paddington Quay
- Paignton
- Port Talbot
- Portsmouth
- Poulton Le Fylde
- Prestwich
- Raynes Park
- Redditch
- Roman Road
- Romsey
- Rotherham
- Salford City
- Saltcoats
- Sheffield City
- South Ockendon
- South Shields
- Southall
- Springburn Way
- St Johns
- St Peters Street
- Stamford
- Stamford Hill
- Stockport
- Stornoway
- Stroud
- Sunderland City
- Teignmouth
- The Markets
- Vauxhall Bridge Road
- Wealdstone
- Westbourne
- Wester Hailes
- Windsor
- Worlds End
- Yate Sodbury
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