A sweeping overhaul of the network also puts threatens 1,000 jobs
More than 100 Post Office branches and around 1,000 jobs are at risk under a sweeping overhaul – see if your local branch is under threat.
The Post Office is looking to offload 115 directly-owned Crown Post Offices within its 11,500 branch network, which could see them transferred to retail partners or postmasters, or potentially closed. Of the affected branches, 40 are in London, which is just over a third of the remaining Crown Post Offices. A further nine are in Greater Manchester and five are in Wales.
Around 1,000 workers are employed across the branches, while the Post Office also confirmed that hundreds of further roles are under threat at its headquarters as it looks to streamline back-office operations. Post Office chairman Nigel Railton said the shake-up will offer a “new deal for postmasters” by increasing their share of revenue and giving them a greater say in the running of the business as it looks to move on from the Horizon IT scandal that saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongfully convicted.
The plans, which are subject to government funding, would see average branch pay doubled by 2030, with £120 million in additional pay by the end of the first year. In an announcement to postmasters and staff on Wednesday, Mr Railton said: “The Post Office has a 360-year history of public service, and today we want to secure that service for the future by learning from past mistakes and moving forward for the benefit of all postmasters. We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal.”
You can see the branches at risk of closure using our interactive map:
He added the overhaul also “begins a new phase of partnership during which we will strengthen the postmaster voice in the day-to-day running and operations of the business, so they are represented from the frontline to the boardroom”.
It follows a strategic review launched by Mr Railton in May, but is reliant on funding talks with government, which the Post Office said were “positive and ongoing”. The government is also said to have been consulted on the possibility of handing ownership of the network to thousands of subpostmasters across the country.
The 115 branches put at risk are are Crown Post Offices located in city centres and staffed by Post Office employees. They are the only remaining branches directly owned by the Post Office, down from close to 400 in 2010. However, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) union called on the Post Office to halt the plans and on the government to intervene.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “For the company to announce the closure of hundreds of Post Offices hot on the heels of the Horizon scandal is as tone deaf as it is immoral. CWU members are victims of the Horizon scandal – and for them to now fear for their jobs ahead of Christmas is yet another cruel attack.”
The Post Office insisted that it aims to franchise the branches or transfer ownership to other parties, such as its network of retail partners. Retailers such as WH Smith, Tesco, Morrisons and the Co-Op operate around 2,000 Post Offices across the country.
The rest of the network – about 9,000 Post Offices – are operated by independent postmasters. As part of the transformation, the Post Office is also setting up a new postmaster panel to increase support and training and a consultative council “to ensure postmasters’ interests remain front and centre”.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade said: “Post Offices are an integral part of the communities they serve and the services they provide for local people. The Government is in active discussion with Nigel Railton on his plans to put postmasters at the centre of the organisation and strengthen the Post Office network for its long-term future.”
A public inquiry remains ongoing into the Horizon IT scandal, which involved hundreds of subpostmasters who were wrongly convicted of stealing after the company’s defective accounting system made it appear as though money was missing from their branches.
Full list of Crown Post Office branches
- Aldwych, Westminster, London – WC2B 4JN
- Antrim, Antrim and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland – BT41 4AR
- Baker Street, Westminster, London – W1U 6SG
- Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales – LL57 1PB
- Barnes Green, Manchester, North West – M9 4DL
- Barnet, London – EN5 5UU
- Belfast City, Northern Ireland – BT1 1LT
- Bexhill-On-Sea, Rother, South East – TN40 1AA
- Bideford, Torridge, South West – EX39 2EX
- Birmingham, West Midlands – B2 4AA
- Bransholme, Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire and The Humber – HU7 4JF
- Breck Road, Liverpool, North West – L5 6SW
- Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, Yorkshire and The Humber – YO15 2AA
- Brixton, Lambeth, London – SW9 8FR
- Broadway, Westminster, London – SW1H 0AX
- Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales – LL55 2ND
- Cambridge City, East of England – CB2 3BZ
- Canning Town, Newham, London – E16 1HF
- Chester-Le-Street, County Durham, North East – DH3 3AA
- The City of London, London – EC3M 1AJ
- Clapham Common, Lambeth, London – SW4 7ST
- Cosham, Portsmouth, South East – PO6 3EH
- Cricklewood, Brent, London – NW2 3HR
- Crossgates, Fife, Scotland – KY4 8AJ
- Croydon High Street, Croydon, London – CR9 1HT
- Dereham, Breckland, East of England – NR19 2AA
- Didsbury Village, Manchester, North West – M20 6RJ
- Dunraven Place, Bridgend, Wales – CF31 1AB
- East Dulwich, Southwark, London – SE22 8HH
- Eccles, Salford, North West – M30 0NS
- Eccleston Street, Westminster, London – SW1W 9LS
- Edinburgh City, Scotland – EH1 1BQ
- Furness House, Westmorland and Furness, North West – LA14 1LE
- Glasgow, Scotland – G1 2RD
- Gloucester, South West – GL1 1AD
- Golders Green, Barnet, London – NW11 8RT
- Great Portland Street, Westminster, London – W1W 7NE
- Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and The Humber – DN31 1AA
- Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland – EH41 3UU
- Hampstead, Camden, London – NW3 1QL
- Harlesden, Brent, London – NW10 4RU
- Harold Hill, Havering, London – RM3 8EJ
- High Holborn, Camden, London – WC1V 7RL
- Houndsditch, City of London, London – E1 7BS
- Hyde, Tameside, North West – SK14 2QU
- Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, – IV1 1AX
- Islington, London – N1 1US
- Kendal, Westmorland and Furness, North West – LA9 4AA
- Kennington Park, Lambeth, London – SE11 4QA
- Kensington, Kensington and Chelsea, London – W8 7RG
- Kettering, North Northamptonshire, East Midlands – NN16 8AA
- Kilburn, Camden, London – NW6 6JG
- Kingsbury, Brent, London – NW9 9DU
- Kingsland High Street, Hackney, London – E8 2NX
- Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland – KW15 1DD
- Knightsbridge, Westminster, London – SW7 1DL
- Leigh, Wigan, North West – WN7 1AA
- Leighton Buzzard, Central Bedfordshire, East of England – LU7 1AA
- Liskeard, Cornwall, South West – PL14 6AA
- London Bridge, Southwark, London – SE1 9SF
- Londonderry, Derry City and Strabane, Northern Ireland – BT48 6AA
- Lower Edmonton, Enfield, London – N9 0TX
- Lupus Street, Westminster, London – SW1V 3EW
- Manchester, Manchester, North West – M2 1BB
- Matlock, Derbyshire Dales, East Midlands – DE4 3AA
- Melville Road, Brighton and Hove, South East – BN3 1UB
- Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales – CF47 0AB
- Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes, South East – MK9 3QA
- Morecambe, Lancaster, North West – LA4 4AA
- Morley, Leeds, Yorkshire and The Humber – LS27 8TB
- Mount Pleasant, Islington, London – EC1R 4SQ
- Mutley, Plymouth, South West – PL4 6LL
- Nailsea, North Somerset, South West – BS48 1RA
- Newquay, Cornwall, South West – TR7 1BU
- Newtownards, Ards and North Down, Northern Ireland – BT23 4FA
- Northolt, Ealing, London – UB5 5AA
- Old Swan, Liverpool, North West – L13 3BU
- Oswestry, Shropshire, West Midlands – SY11 1AG
- Oxford, South East – OX1 1ZZ
- Paddington Quay, Westminster, London – W2 1JX
- Paignton, Torbay, South West – TQ3 3EX
- Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot, Wales – SA13 1NG
- Portsmouth, South East – PO1 1AB
- Poulton-Le-Fylde, Wyre, North West – FY6 7BB
- Prestwich, Bury, North West – M25 3NS
- Raynes Park, Merton, London – SW20 0LL
- Redditch, Redditch, West Midlands – B98 8AB
- Roman Road, Tower Hamlets, London – E2 0RX
- Romsey, Test Valley, South East – SO51 8WA
- Rotherham, Rotherham, Yorkshire and The Humber – S60 1PJ
- Salford City, Salford, North West – M6 5DS
- Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland – KA21 5EX
- Sheffield City, Sheffield, Yorkshire and The Humber – S1 2AX
- South Ockendon, Thurrock, East of England – RM15 5EB
- South Shields, South Tyneside, North East – NE33 1HT
- Southall, Ealing, London – UB1 1PY
- Springburn Way, Glasgow City, Scotland – G21 1BU
- St Johns, Leeds, Yorkshire and The Humber – LS2 8LP
- St Peters Street, St Albans, East of England – AL1 3AA
- Stamford, South Kesteven, East Midlands – PE9 2EY
- Stamford Hill, Hackney, London – N16 6TW
- Stockport, Stockport, North West – SK1 1QF
- Stornoway, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland – HS1 2AD
- Stroud, Stroud, South West – GL5 3AA
- Sunderland City, Sunderland, North East – SR1 1RR
- Teignmouth, Teignbridge, South West – TQ14 8AA
- The Markets, Leeds, Yorkshire and The Humber – LS2 7DZ
- Vauxhall Bridge Road, Westminster, London – SW1V 2ST
- Wealdstone, Harrow, London – HA3 5QL
- Westbourne, Bournemouth, Bournemouth 023A – BH4 9AW
- Wester Hailes, City of Edinburgh, Scotland – EH14 2SW
- Windsor, Windsor and Maidenhead, South East – SL4 1AA
- Worlds End, Kensington and Chelsea, London – SW3 5EX
- Yate Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, South West – BS37 4BB
