Helmsley: Post office discusses retailer collapse
As the Gazette & Herald reported at the time, Helmsley’s Costcutter, which also provided essential postal services, closed without notice in August 2022.
Employees were notified of the closure via text message the day before closure.
After months of discussions with the Post, a retailer was initially interested in taking over the site, but the Post has now confirmed this is no longer the case.
The local post office field manager then visited Helmsley and spoke to the town’s retailers about the possibility of establishing postal services on their premises.
Helmsley’s North Yorkshire councilor George Jabbour said it was “deeply disappointing” that the talks ended unsuccessfully.
“Unfortunately, that’s the outcome I feared from the start, which is why I’ve consistently campaigned from the start for Helmsley to have a temporary solution until a permanent, full-time position is secured,” he said.
A temporary solution was implemented in the city after a protest organized by Cllr Jabbour that ended in November 2022.
However, the Post has now announced that it would like to reestablish a temporary part-time service in Helmsley.
A Post spokesman said: “We aim to restore postal services to Helmsley as soon as possible.”
“One retailer has expressed an interest, but no application has been submitted at this time.
“Our field service team recently revisited retailers in the region to renew awareness of the business opportunity to restore community services.
“While we continue to prefer a permanent, full-time position at the Post Office due to the lack of applicants and the difficult retail environment, we have decided that in the interest of providing a certain level of service, we will again look at opportunities to provide a temporary position.” -time service.
“The Helmsley position remains open runapostoffice.co.uk.”
Read previous articles about the Helmsley Post Office:
Cllr Jabbour said: “As many are aware, a mobile branch was launched in Helmsley following the protest I organized. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing.”
“So I was extremely upset when the Post stopped this temporary solution before offering another alternative.
“I’m pleased that the Post has now reconsidered its position and is working to offer an interim solution until a retailer comes forward and offers a full-time alternative.”
“I visited the Topcliffe Post Office last week and know the post office has also contacted other branches to explore possible routes.
“We must leave no stone unturned until this problem is resolved.”
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/business/23524977.helmsley-post-office-talks-retailer-collapse/?ref=rss Helmsley: Post office discusses retailer collapse
