Post office site to close for the final time after almost two centuries

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A POST office which has been in existence for the best part of two centuries is to close its doors for the final time at the end of this month.

Gomersal Post Office is moving from its current premises on Spen Lane into McColl's newsagents on the same road, as part of a reorganisation by Post Office bosses.

The move will see the loss of the business which has been run from the building for the last 179 years, and leaves current postmaster Paul Rakhra in search of a new job.

When the post office reopens 450 metres away in McColl's, it will have much longer opening hours, operating seven days a week until 10pm each day.


Mr Rakhra, 55, who has run the post office for the past five years, has set up a display of memorabilia in the shop window for the final few weeks before its closure on April 30.

He told the Telegraph & Argus: "It's quite sad really, as this site has been a post office for the last 179 years. I've been stuck between a rock and a hard place, as we would need to run another business alongside the post office when the subsidy ends next year, and there are already convenience stores nearby.

"We have been trying to come up with a brilliant idea and have a lightbulb moment to find something we can do here, but have not found anything suitable so far.

"I moved here with my wife Kamal from Birmingham when we bought the business and the premises five years ago and we had a ten year plan thinking it would last us through to retirement. But now I face having to find another job at my age."

Consultation over the plans by Post Office took place last year, as part of a major investment in the branch network. The move is intended to offer customers longer opening hours, improved accessibility and a modern open-plan counter.

When the move was announced in February, Post Office said the extra 65 hours of service every week, as well as Sunday opening, will be much more convenient for customers.

Suzanne Richardson, district manager said: “We are making it easier for customers to get their cash, send and collect their mail and do their banking because we know how important these services are to local residents."


She added: “We are confident that this vibrant new-style Post Office at the heart of the local community will meet customer needs. This modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office and will secure services for the future.”

The new post office branch will open after the May Day bank holiday weekend on Tuesday, May 3.