Search on for new Maidenhead home for 'vital' Post Office

Calls have been made to find a new home for a ‘lifeline’ Post Office in the town centre amid uncertainty around its future.

The service will have to move out of its current base in TGJones (formerly WHSmith) in the Nicholsons Centre, with the shopping centre set to be demolished in the summer for the Nicholson Quarter regeneration.

The Post Office has confirmed it is searching for a new location in Maidenhead amid calls to ensure the ‘vital resource’ can keep running in the town.

The organisation has said it is ‘investigating the options available’ and it is advertising for applicants to run the service. Retailers have until February 15 to apply.

As it stands, it will close on Saturday, May 16 – after Nicholsons Centre tenants were given notice they will need to vacate the complex by June.

TGJones is ‘in the process of looking for an alternative location’ for both its store and the Post Office ‘within Maidenhead’, a spokesperson said.

They added: “All store and Post Office colleagues have been informed and will be kept up to date on any progress made.”

A spokesperson for the Post Office said: “We know how important a Post Office is to a community and we are currently investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community.

“The vacancy is currently advertised on runapostoffice.co.uk and we would welcome interest from local retailers.”

Maidenhead’s MP, Josh Reynolds, and community groups supporting older people have called for a solution to be found so the service can stay in the town without disruption.

Paul Samuels is a trustee for Men’s Matters, a social wellbeing group for older men with an average age of 80.

He said: “For many older residents it is a vital face-to-face service for paying bills, collecting pensions and getting help with forms.

“At a time when so much is online, losing this lifeline would put some elderly people at real risk of exclusion.

“I do hope a new site can be found.”

Echoing these concerns, Age UK Berkshire said in a statement: “Post Offices are a vital resource for local communities and having easy access to them is particularly important for older people.

“We hope a new, town centre location can be found for Maidenhead Post Office.”

MP Josh Reynolds has written an open letter to the Post Office emphasising the importance of the service for elderly residents and requesting a meeting to discuss plans and timelines for continuing services.

He told the Advertiser he is ‘really concerned’ by the current situation.

“My primary concern at the moment is that we may be without a Post Office in the town centre and that would be truly awful for the town,” he added.

“It’s important for individuals day-to-day with various banks that are no longer based in the town, [we’ve] got to have a Post Office.

“It is a lifeline for those older and more vulnerable residents in the town centre, whether they’re collecting a pension, whether they’re using banking services, the in-person facilities that the Post Office has really are a lifeline for those individuals.”

Mr Reynolds said that work needs to be done as ‘quickly as possible’ to ensure an alternative location is found.

Julian Dale, president of the Maidenhead & District Chamber of Commerce, said: “Elderly residents and pensioners would lose a valuable resource and access point to collect pensions, pay bills with helpful in-person staff.

“I personally use the town centre Post Office and find it an essential service.

“I would be very disappointed should a positive permanent centralised solution not be found to ensure this valuable service not be maintained within easy access in the town centre.”