Policy & Research

Our work on post offices

Lessons from the Post Office Closure Programme

In May 2007, the Government embarked on the Network Change, or Post Office Closure Programme, which resulted in Post Office Ltd (POL) closing nearly 2,500 post offices, including 500 branches, which were replaced with Outreach services.[1]

The Post Office Closure Programme was necessary to help get the Post Office network on a more stable footing as it was making heavy losses. However, it was inevitably going to be a difficult time for consumers.

In 2010, Consumer Focus embarked on a piece of research to explore the long term impacts of the Closure Programme and the effects on individuals and communities.

Devon was used as a case study for the research, as it is characterised by deeply rural areas with sparse populations, precisely the areas in which the impacts of the reduction of post office provision would most likely be pronounced.

A number of key lessons for further restructuring of the Post Office network have been identified following this research, and Devon has highlighted the critical importance that local stakeholders and community engagement can play to help mitigate the impacts that changes can bring. For the full story see our report Devon Knows – long term impacts and lessons of the Post Office Closure Programme.

These lessons will be important in light of the major changes that are due to occur to the Post Office network from the middle of 2012 onwards. In November 2010, the Government announced that 2,000 Post Office Locals and 4,000 Post Office Mains will be introduced across the network between 2012 and 2015.[2]

Local authority and community engagement

Our research has shown that there was significant and vital engagement in the Closure Programme by Devon County Council and also by members of the community.

Devon County Council support scheme

Understanding the crucial role that post offices play in the communities they serve, Devon County Council wanted to play a key part in securing the best possible outcomes for communities under the Closure Programme.  

Through the establishment of a Devon and Torbay Post Office Task Force at the start of the Closure Programme, Devon County Council was able to gather local information and intelligence from different representatives to understand the potential impacts of the proposed changes.

The Council realised that it was particularly vital to try and save post offices proposed for closure, which were located in the only village shop. In these cases, real detriment could be caused if the post office was closed, and the shop was not able to survive without the footfall and income generated from the post office.

Where POL had initially consulted on proposals to replace some post offices located in the only retail outlet in the village, with a part-time Mobile or Hosted Outreach, Devon County Council persuaded POL to delay and alter their decision. They subsequently worked with POL to look at introducing Partner services in the village shops, as an alternative form of Outreach service.

Partner Outreach services within the existing local shops can help to retain the existing customer footfall in these shops, as post office products and services are typically offered alongside the main retail offer.

While working alongside POL, Devon County Council also looked at a strategy for helping to support these Partner services to remain viable on a long-term basis.

In September 2008, the Council introduced a support scheme, which was made available to 16 village shops, each of which hosted a Partner Outreach service, and which was the last retail outlet in that location. The support scheme provided business advice and community development support to the 16 Partner Outreach services, in addition to direct financial support.

The actions of the Council at this time represent one of the most effective responses of any local authority to the Closure Programme, and some key lessons can be learnt from the role that they played:

• Without the intervention of Devon County Council and the introduction of a support scheme, many more communities across Devon would have lost access to a full-time post office service, and experienced the knock-on effects that this brings
• As major changes to the Post Office network start to take effect, it will be crucial for local authorities to engage in the changes that are taking place, and to consider the range of support measures that are needed to help mitigate the impacts of these changes, and to sustain local communities

Community response

In response to the Closure Programme, communities across Devon worked together to develop and introduce community-led solutions to mitigate the impacts of post office closures.

In some villages in Devon where the local post office was closed, leading to the closure of the only remaining shop, villagers have come together to introduce a community owned and run shop. In other villages, where there was a risk that the sole remaining shop may close following the closure of the post office, the community has taken over the running of the shop, to ensure its viability in the long term. Some of these community shops now also provide a post office service.

These community-led solutions however are not just limited to Devon. Consumer Focus has established an online directory of community-led post offices, which provides a snapshot of over 70 community post offices currently in operation. This can be visited at http://communitypo.cflabs.org.uk/