Post Office Campaigners fear another major round of Post Office closures could be on their way and are urging residents to back the “Save Your Post Office” campaign before it is too late.
Forty years ago, there were over 20,000 Post Offices across the UK. As of March 2024, this had reduced to 11,804 following two major branch closure programmes between 2002 and 2009 which saw approximately 5,000 Post Offices close, including the historic Post Office in Ellacombe.
To protect Post Office services in communities across the UK, a 11,500 minimum branch requirement was set in 2010 by the then Coalition Government for the Post Office.
Now a government consultation on the future of the Post Office is inviting comments on whether the requirement for the Post Office to have a minimum of 11,500 branches should be reduced or even removed. This despite the Government admitting some Post Offices would inevitably close if changes were made to it. Whilst local Sub-Post Offices are mostly small businesses providing Post Office services, the national network remains in public ownership.
Given this threat of further cuts to the Post Office network, local campaigners are calling on residents across Torbay who value their local Post Office to speak out against any reduction in the minimum branch requirement. Kevin Foster, who campaigned successfully to save Paignton and Torre Post Offices, said: “Local Post Offices are not just a vital service, they sit at the heart of a local community and when they close a range of services are lost with them. We must send a clear message to the Government that a further round of Post Office closures is not acceptable.”
Residents can sign the “Save Your Post Office” petition by following this link:
www.kevinjfoster.com/campaigns/saveyourpostoffice
The Government consultation on the Post Office is running until 23:59 on 6 October 2025 and can be found by clicking here.
