A parliamentary representative is urging the Post Office to abandon its plan to shut a counter in a shop close to Didcot.
The unexpected closure of the Post Office counter at East Hagbourne Community Shop has left local residents with fewer essential services available and has also endangered the shop’s continued operation.
Didcot and Wantage MP Olly Glover, in conjunction with local ward members and the shop’s board, is pressing the Post Office to reconsider.
The volunteer-run community shop has housed the heavily-used Post Office counter for over two decades.
Alongside supplying groceries to local people and serving as a sales point for food producers, the shop forms the centre of village life.
It functions as a gathering spot, a hub for local news, and provides work experience for teenagers and those building their abilities.
Having a Post Office located within the shop has been vital in keeping the enterprise financially sustainable.
The chair of the Community Shop, Sally Barksfield, indicated she received no direct communication from the Post Office regarding the counter’s closure.
County councillor Johnny Hope-Smith, who covers Didcot and The Hagbournes, was informed by a council officer instead.
Iain Duff, leader of East Hagbourne Parish Council, expressed strong disapproval of the lack of communication and consultation from the Post Office area change manager, noting that the closure of East Hagbourne Post Office would be highly damaging to their village and wider community.
Following discussions with shop volunteers and local councillors on Thursday, Mr Glover observed that retail businesses and community amenities such as this shop and post office are vital for those with limited mobility and those lacking dependable transport, yet they also constitute the social foundation of villages like the Hagbournes.
The volunteer-run community shop cannot feasibly take on the duty of hiring a Postmaster or assume responsibility for running a Post Office independently, meaning the Post Office’s fresh so-called local model would present considerable challenges.
This appears to conflict with the government’s publication on safeguarding rural post offices that received ministerial backing in February.
As an initial step, Mr Glover will request an urgent meeting with the Post Office and a representative from the Community Shop to explore ways of securing the long-term future of this treasured local asset.
The Post Office issued a notification on March 4 indicating that, following the postmaster’s resignation, they were not planning to replace East Hagbourne Post Office at that time.
Yet according to the Post Office’s own website, they are seeking applications from a successful trader in the East Hagbourne region to submit a proposal to integrate a Post Office Local into their current or planned operation, with a deadline of April 13.
A campaign launched by the shop, which has gathered 500 signatures so far, is demanding the Post Office reverse its choice.
Mr Glover has also been contacted by numerous messages from worried customers, volunteers, and community groups outlining how essential the Post Office and shop are to daily life in the village.
Mr Hope-Smith asserted that the Post Office counter serves as a lifeline for many residents, particularly those without easy access to services elsewhere, and that losing it would deal a significant blow to the village, expressing his commitment to collaborating with the Hagbournes community and Olly to advocate for reconsideration.