Post Office Ltd have confirmed to us – on the back of the recent announcement that the building of their permanent branch at the site of the current temporary reduced service will be completed next week – that the new permanent branch will properly replace the former branch hosted by WHSmiths by including the reintroduction of all services at the new branch.
The temporary Post Office branch opened in June after work we did with the Council, and local stakeholders to save Oldham Town Centre’s branch after the one hosted by WHSmiths closed in May. As promised when the new branch was confirmed, a new fitted out permanent branch which is being built in the same unit as the current temporary branch has been confirmed to be completed next week.
This milestone represents the end of a long period of hard work. Back in 2019, when the future of the Crown Post Office on Lord St. was in doubt, we made it clear that moving our Post Office into a private franchise left it vulnerable. Even then, WHSmith’s long-term future in the shopping centre was uncertain. Despite thousands signing a petition, a Westminster Hall debate, and repeated warnings, our concerns were ignored.
Earlier this year, the situation we feared played out. Despite writing to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade in January to seek support to safeguard the future of the Post Office in Oldham; and to Post Office Ltd in March to receive assurances that there would be a continuity of a post office service in Oldham, we lost our service following the closure of WHSmith’s in May. Thanks to the hard work of the Council and Post Office Ltd., the loss of the town centre service was very short lived.
We believe that this solution has sufficiently mitigated further disruption since in the short term there was some continuity of service – albeit a bare bones operation – and in the long term, it has successfully ensured a stable future for the branch which looks to be even better than the one it has replaced. Services added to the current temporary services include digital & paper passport applications, SIA licence applications, DVLA applications & renewals, and MVL (car tax renewal).
The completion of a new permanent branch with a wider array of services and more secure future in its own unit which reverses the fading profile of the branch is a win for the people of Oldham and thanks to those who made their voices heard. The Post Office is a pillar of our community, we will continue to work with all partners to make sure Oldham town centre isn’t left behind when it comes to access to key services.
A secure long-term future for post offices, high streets and town centre more widely is still an ongoing battle we are committed to fighting so we can remake these areas and deliver more good jobs for local people. From our business rates reforms which give a permanent rate relief for services like the Post Office and helps businesses which operate at multiple premises; our successful campaign to make violence against shopworkers a standalone offence; and ongoing regeneration work of core civic & cultural institutions which encourage town centre visits: we are delivering for our chain high street retailers, that are essential for driving footfall for independent and smaller retailers.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 