Post Office closures could hit Bideford

The Gazette understands from various reports, including the BBC, that up to 115 Post Office branches and hundreds of head office jobs may be at risk as part of a major shake-up of the business. 

The Post Office is reportedly exploring options for its wholly-owned branches, which currently employ about 1,000 workers and are loss-making.

These options could include alternative franchise arrangements, where an operator such as retailer WHSmith or another third party might take over the branches.

Bideford is understood to be on the list of branches at risk of closure.

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We are considering a range of options to reduce our central costs. This includes considering the future of our remaining Directly Managed Branches (DMB) , which are loss-making. We have long held a publicly-stated ambition to move to a fully franchised network and we are in dialogue with the unions about future options for the DMBs.”

The spokesperson added: “We have not made an announcement about any branch anywhere in the UK. The list that is circulating around is a list of our Directly Managed Branches. Bideford Post Office is a Directly Managed Branch.”