Green-controlled Stroud Town Council is celebrating an against-the-odds victory, after sealing a deal to reopen a post office closed under the government's Network Change programme. Stroud is the first authority to intervene successfully to rescue a stand-alone post office, and only the second to save any post office counter. Meanwhile, around 2,500 other branches are expected to have been lost by the end of this year.
Stroud, in Gloucestershire, has 11 Green councillors, with 5 independents, one Conservative and one Liberal Democrat.
Uplands Post Office was shut down by network bosses in August this year, but Stroud has agreed a deal to reopen it after four months of secret negotiations. Uplands will receive around £10,000 of Council assistance this year, and £25,000 in each of the next two years, and is expected to begin trading again within three weeks.
Postal chiefs initially refused talks, only sitting down with Green councillors after a local grandmother, 73-year-old Mary Davies, won Uplands a last-minute stay of execution at the High Court in July. This prompted Post Office chief exec Alan Cook to step in and give the go-ahead for negotiations.
Only one other authority - Essex County Council - has successfully intervened to save a post office counter from closure. However, Station Way Post Office in Essex, which reopened last month, was a counter as part of a larger convenience store. Uplands is the first stand-alone Post Office to be saved, the first in a rural settlement, and the first secured by the intervention of a Town Council.
Stroud's Green Party Mayor, John Marjoram said securing a future for Uplands was probably the toughest battle he had faced in more than 22 years as a local councillor. "From the start we believed this was a cause worth fighting for, but there were times when I almost gave up hope. People told us we were wasting our time, as closure was a foregone conclusion. But this proves that if you believe in something you must never give in," John said.
"The value of a Post Office to a community cannot be calculated on a purely profit-and-loss basis. They are an invaluable part of our social infrastructure, particularly to the most vulnerable residents. For a small council like ours to take over this service is not an easy option and it’s not a cheap option. But we believe it is the right option if we want to maintain Stroud’s great sense of community."
Postmaster Robin Craig said he has been overwhelmed by the support from customers: "People have not stopped asking me when we are going to reopen and how strongly they support our efforts to save it. This is a truly ground-breaking and hugely significant development. We now have a blueprint which councils across Britain can use to save their Post Offices. I am very proud that we’ve managed to do it and can’t wait to get behind the counter again."
Deputy Mayor Andy Read (Independent) said: "This has been achieved by the joint efforts of so many local people. It is an achievement that Stroud should be really proud of. A big thankyou to all those who campaigned in the early stages, wrote letters and organised the demos. Everyone who supported our efforts with their encouraging words in the street and by email. To the Postmaster Robin Craig for his determination and belief. To our town council staff for their hard work behind the scenes. To Mary Davies and her legal team for making a stand in the courts. To our MP David Drew for applying constant pressure through Parliament, and to Essex County Council who really paved the way for such re-openings and whose staff readily gave us some vital assistance and advice."