Closure of post office delayed by four weeks

The closure of a Haxby shop which houses the town's only post office has been delayed by four weeks.

It was announced on 24 March that Morrisons would close 52 cafes and 17 convenience stores, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

The Morrisons Daily branch in The Village was set to close on 16 April, but will now close on 14 May.

Haxby and Wigginton councillor Ian Cuthbertson said the Post Office "need to get their fingers out" and find a new site. The business said they were working with Morrisons to maintain a branch in the town.

Cuthbertson said: "It will be pretty detrimental. It's not just the residents of Haxby and Wigginton, but there are other people in the vicinity who use the post office.

"On top of that, Haxby is the leading cash deposit point for businesses on the north side of York."

He said the existing staff in the post office were Morrisons employees and would lose their jobs once the branch closed - but they were prepared to move to a new post office if a site was found.

The Liberal Democrat said he feared there would not be enough time for a transition.

"It will take four or five, maybe six weeks, to install a new computer system and get it hooked up to the internet and everything, and we are already out of that time now."

He added: "We have got a dialogue going with the Post Office.

"They need to get their fingers out and move on this because this is quite an important facility, not just for Haxby and Wigginton, but for nearby residents and businesses."

The Post Office said they recognised the "inconvenience this will cause for customers" but pointed out there were branches nearby at New Earswick, Strensall and Huntington.

The organisation added: "We want to maintain a post office in Haxby. We are currently working with our retail partner, Morrisons who have suggested that the branch could move to their store in Oak Tree Lane."

Cuthbertson said the suggestion was "inadequate from a space point of view within the store" as well as travel options.

The Post Office is now advertising a vacancy where other retailers can express interest in operating the branch.

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