Deal to save threatened Bristol post office

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Dea ... ticle.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royal Mail has stepped in to secure the future of a closure-threatened post office in Bristol.

The Patchway branch, which is run by supermarket chain Co-op in Coniston Road, was due to shut today.

But the Co-op has now agreed to hand over control of the service to an interim sub-postmaster, who will run the branch as a franchisee on a temporary basis from Friday.

Royal Mail hopes it will continue to run from the Co-op premises until a permanent home can be found for the busy branch.

Workers had been devastated when the announcement was made that the Co-op store and post office would shut in January following the shop's "poor trading performance".

The supermarket closed in January but the post office, which had been profitable, continued to trade ahead of today's planned closure.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said it would be business as usual from Friday and that customers would not notice any changes to the branch's services.

She said: "We are working with the community to find a permanent base for the branch.

"There may have been a temporary break in service but we have reached an agreement to stay in the premises for a temporary period and have appointed a new agent to run it. We will stay there until an agreement is reached on the future."

A spokeswoman for the Co-operative said: "The Patchway post office will not close and talks are underway to secure its future.

The Co-operative will hand over control of the post office on Monday, March 9 to an interim postmaster."

A total of 14 full- and part-time jobs were under threat when plans were announced to close the post office and shop but staff had been told they could be relocated elsewhere.

If an alternative base cannot be found in Patchway, the nearest post office would be one-and-a-half miles away in Bradley Stoke.

Customers told the Post after the announcement in January that elderly people would struggle to reach other branches if the Patchway post office closes.