Councillor raises concerns over continued closure of Castleton Post Office

A local councillor has written a letter of complaint to Post Office Ltd addressing the ‘temporary closure’ of Castleton Post Office.

Councillor Billy Sheerin says the branch, at 817 Manchester Road, offered ‘no clear prior notice of closure’ before it closed its doors in early May.

Now, nearly three months later, the Castleton ward councillor is questioning when the local service will re-open as it is causing ‘problems for many businesses and residents’.

“Our post office closed on the 7 May due to operational reasons with little or no notice being given to customers”, said Councillor Sheerin. “It was the 28 May when we received notification - three weeks later!

“Castleton has been without our post office for nearly three months. This is totally unacceptable and is a repeat to what has happened before.”

Castleton Post Office has previously been closed for a number of reasons, once due to ‘staffing issues’ and another time for refurbishment and modernisation.

“Since privatisation in 2012, the service in Castleton has deteriorated and this is not just happening to Castleton,” continued Councillor Sheerin. “It has happened all over the country especially in rural areas.

“There are 11,500 post office branches in the UK of which only 191 are directly managed by Post Office Ltd, known as Crown offices. Most of the rest are run by franchise partners or local sub-postmasters.

“Castleton is obviously run as a franchise, which it would seem the Post Office have very little control over.

“I have also noted on the Post Office website that the list of local Post Offices in Rochdale does not include Castleton. This is a disgrace and an insult to all who live in the village.”

 

 

Responding to Councillor Sheerin’s complaint, a representative of the Post Office commented: “We understand how important Post Office services are to communities and I’m very sorry that customers may need to travel further to access our services whilst Castleton Post Office is closed.

“The branch closed on 7 May 2021 for operational reasons. Unfortunately, we do not yet have a re-opening date for the branch, however we will inform customers and local representatives as soon as we have any updates.

“The nearest alternative branch is Sudden Post Office, which is located at 408 Manchester Road, Rochdale, just over a mile from the branch.

“I’m very sorry for the inconvenience and concern caused to customers and I hope my response reassures you that we’re working to restore service as soon as possible.”

Councillor Sheerin concluded: “The Post Office should be a service not a business, like it was in the past.”

During Castleton’s period of closure, Post Office services may be accessed from other Post Office branches including:

• Sudden Post Office, 408 Manchester Road, Rochdale, OL11 4PE
• Kirkholt Post Office, 21-24 The Strand, Rochdale, OL11 2JG