Deadline for Oxford post office

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http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/402125 ... st_office/

A closure date has been set for a post office that has served Oxford since 1899.

The Post Office franchise at Lloyds Pharmacy in St Giles will close on Tuesday, February 3, after the owners of the chemist decided to shut up shop.

Nigel Taylor, who runs the nearby St Giles News shop, said the closure would be a massive blow for traders in the area.

He said: “The post office attracts business from pensioners and other residents, and all the people from the surrounding colleges use it.

“I have now collected about 3,000 signatures for a petition which I’m going to present to Royal Mail to show managers the level of demand there is for this service in the area. I’m confident there will be a post office in St Giles again because Royal Mail seem very supportive in terms of replacing the service, so we hope this will only be a temporary closure.”

In October, the Oxford Mail revealed the post office would close, but no date had been set.

There is no longer a post office in Summertown, and residents in North Oxford will now have to use post offices in Walton Street or St Aldate’s.

Mr Taylor said: “We were hoping there would be an alternative in place before the chemist closed, but that doesn’t look like it is going to happen. People starting up a new post office usually have to provide a fairly substantial deposit – and unfortunately it’s not a good time at the moment to borrow money from the banks.”

Mr Taylor added that Oxford University’s redevelopment of the Radcliffe Infirmary site would make a replacement post office in St Giles crucial in years to come.

Liberal Democrat city councillor Jean Fooks said: “It has now been confirmed that the post office in St Giles will close on February 3, and that is a massive blow for everyone, particularly pensioners living in Summertown or other parts of North Oxford.

“For many of them, it will be a struggle to travel to Jericho or the post office in St Aldate’s.”

Royal Mail spokesman Jaquie Stenson said efforts would be made to restore services in the area as soon as possible.

She added: “This is an unavoidable break in the service but we are looking for a new applicant.”

Ms Stenson said the alternative post office branches in Walton Street and St Aldate’s were within 1.6 miles of the St Giles branch.

A spokesman for Lloyds said the pharmacy would close on January 24, with the post office shutting on February 3.