Franchisees come forward to take on Banbury Post Office

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BANBURY Post Office is set for change after its owners confirmed that franchisees have come forward to take on its running.

In January the Post Office announced that the office in High Street would be one of 39 around the country to be franchised.

The plans were criticised by the Communication Workers Union, which represents post office workers, with area representative Sue Trehearne saying the staff had been left "shocked" and "unsettled" by the news.

She said that she feared the office would end up being at the back of a shop where people would be "bombarded" by other products instead of using the service.


The nine staff were told the news by a Post Office representative at a meeting at the office.

Potential franchisees had four weeks to come forward if they were interested in hosting the service, and the Post Office has now now confirmed talks are taking place with interested parties.

Once talks have been completed between the possible franchisees and the Post Office, there will be a six week public consultation for people to have their say on the plans.

Post Office spokeswoman Melanie Corfield confirmed there had been interest from companies in taking on the Post Office but would not confirm if these were based in the town centre.

She did add though that the Post Office was still confident in finding a suitable town centre location for the service.

Banbury MP Victoria Prentis previously called for possible franchisees to come forward and take on the running of the service.

Speaking this week she said: "I am pleased that there has been some interest from partners that might want to take on the Post Office franchise in Banbury.

"I’m looking forward to learning more in the public consultation that will take place in the near future.

"It remains important to me that we keep a Post Office in Banbury town centre for those in the town and neighbouring villages to use."