A POST office is on the move after vital annual funding was withdrawn and the postmistress resigned.
Charlbury Postmistress Elaine Newbold tendered her resignation when the Post Office informed her they were removing her core payment, an annual fund she depends on to run the counter.
Now the company, which has been reviewing the future of the Charlbury branch for the past year, will have to find a suitable alternative for the Post Office counter within the town.
Mrs Newbold said that when she took on the counter in 2010 she was told a Post Office would not be viable. Then, last summer, she was informed that the shop part of her business needed to make at least £4,000 a week to make the counter sustainable.
She said: “It’s frustrating. They were going to remove our core payment, so the only way forward was for me to resign so that they can actively look to relocate.
“When I went to the interview they told me the Post Office wouldn’t be viable. Now they want the weekly turnover to be £4,000 – and we get nowhere near a fraction of that.
“It’s sad, the way things are going with the Post Office. They seem to have no regard."
When it was revealed last year that the branch had been put under review, more than 100 people turned out to show their support for Mrs Newbold.
The postmistress said: “The new model is uneconomical to run. All my years of service are to be thrown aside.”
A Post Office spokesman said: “Last year we visited the postmistress at Charlbury to look at options of how we could provide a sustainable post office service in Charlbury.
"At that time, we considered all of the options available and decided to review the situation again in 12 months’ time. My colleague is now in the process of re-engaging with the postmistress at Charlbury to review the situation in terms of how we can support her through the process of transforming her branch or to consider alternative options.”
The Post Office has been rolling out a programme of changes since 2010, and a number of branches in Oxfordshire have either closed or been moved.
Charlbury district councillor and Liberal Democrat Witney parliamentary by-election candidate Liz Leffman is writing to the chair of the Post Office to seek urgent reassurances for the Charlbury branch.
If the post office moves Mrs Newbold will continue to run her shop.