Post office in Derbyshire town at risk of closure amid plans to close 115 branches across UK – impacting 1,000 jobs

The Post Office has confirmed today that 115 branches are at risk of being closed across the UK. Matlock’s post office on Bank Road is among the sites that could be transferred to a retail partner or independent postmaster – or be shut down permanently.

All of the branches that could be impacted by the move at Crown Post Offices, the remaining locations that are still owned directly by the Post Office.

The move is part of a transformation plan announced by the Post Office, which aims to increase postmaster pay by £250m over a five-year period – with hundreds of head office roles also at risk under these proposals.

Nigel Railton, Chair of Post Office Limited, said that the plans – which are subject to government funding – would help to “restore pride” in working for the firm.

He told postmasters that by the end of the first year of the transformation plan, they could expect an additional £120m in remuneration – along with a promise of less red tape and an amplified voice in decision making.

He 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.

“The value postmasters deliver in their communities must be reflected in their pockets, and this Transformation Plan provides a route to adding more than £250m annually to total postmaster remuneration by 2030, subject to government funding.

“It 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.”

Communication Workers Union boss, Dave Ward, said: “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.

“While we are in the middle of a government review of the Post Office's future, the employer has embarked on its own strategic review.

“It seems the Post Office has learned no lessons from its chaotic and uncoordinated mistakes of the past.

“We call on the Post Office to immediately halt these planned closures and the attached consultations - which, historically, have been nothing but playing lip service - and engage with the CWU on protecting jobs and services.

“We also call on the government to intervene over this shambolic decision.”

The Post Office has 11,500 branches across the UK, with 9,000 operated by independent postmasters and another 2,000 run by retailers such as WH Smith.

The full list of post offices at risk across the UK can be found below:

Aldwych

Antrim

Baker Street

Bangor

Barnes Green

Barnet

Belfast City

Bexhill On Sea

Bideford

Birmingham

Bransholme

Breck Road

Bridlington

Brixton

Broadway

Caernarfon

Cambridge City

Canning Town

Chester Le Street

City of London

Clapham Common

Cosham

Cricklewood

Crossgates

Croydon High Street

Dereham

Didsbury Village

Dunraven Place

East Dulwich

Eccles

Eccleston Street

Edinburgh City

Furness House

Glasgow

Gloucester

Golders Green

Great Portland Street

Grimsby

Haddington

Hampstead

Harlesden

Harold Hill

High Holborn

Houndsditch

Hyde

Inverness

Islington

Kendal

Kennington Park

Kensington

Kettering

Kilburn

Kingsbury

Kingsland High Street

Kirkwall

Knightsbridge

Leigh

Leighton Buzzard

Liskeard

London Bridge

Londonderry

Lower Edmonton

Lupus Street

Manchester

Matlock

Melville Road

Merthyr Tydfil

Milton Keynes

Morecambe

Morley

Mount Pleasant

Mutley

Nailsea

Newquay

Newtownards

Northolt

Old Swan

Oswestry

Oxford

Paddington Quay

Paignton

Port Talbot

Portsmouth

Poulton Le Fylde

Prestwich

Raynes Park

Redditch

Roman Road

Romsey

Rotherham

Salford City

Saltcoats

Sheffield City

South Ockendon

South Shields

Southall

Springburn Way

St Johns

St Peters Street

Stamford

Stamford Hill

Stockport

Stornoway

Stroud

Sunderland City

Teignmouth

The Markets

Vauxhall Bridge Road

Wealdstone

Westbourne

Wester Hailes

Windsor

Worlds End

Yate Sodbury