Going, going, and (almost) gone?

Is Woodstock Post Office under threat?

Woodstock is fortunate to have in its midst an invaluable community asset in the form of Woodstock Post Office, currently competently run by Rana and Swarn Lally, aided by the lovely 'Linda of the Post Office' behind its counter.

Rana and Swarn have contributed to our Woodstock community in this manner (and more), for some 22 years. Up until now they have lived in the flat above the shop. As such, the flat could be seen as important ancillary accommodation for the Post Office tenants, and indeed there is no independent entrance to it, given the high level of security which Royal Mail insists upon for the premises overall. An entrance via the garage would not be available because the garage is needed by the commercial premises and is included within them. The Landlord for the shop - and for the integral flat above it - is Woodstock Town Council, whose property agent is Breckon & Breckon.

The leases for both the shop and the flat (which are separate), were due to expire in March 2033 but there is a break clause within them allowing the tenants to give notice to terminate that lease in March 2028. This is the crucial date which is not a very long time away. The clock is ticking.

Both the shop and the flat were to have regular rent reviews, one of which happened earlier this year. This is where the problems begin for Woodstock.

There is nothing unusual in tenants having to face rent reviews every few years. The issue of concern is more to do with the extent of the uplift in the valuation advised by Breckon & Breckon and the totally unreasonable pressure it places upon the Post Office tenants.

The suggestion was that the going rental rate for both the flat and shop together should be about £38,700 pa. This would mean a possible rental uplift of almost 90% over and above the current rent which Rana and Swarn have been paying until now. To my mind, that's a huge increase. It would be unsustainable for our Postmaster and Postmistress. Furthermore, the agent's valuation fails to take into account the inherent value to Woodstock, that having a local Post

A Post Office is a vital community

Office provides.

asset, and a lifeline for many residents and

businesses. The rent rises imposed by previous town councils always reflected this added value.

Quite suddenly, the Town Council has decided to operate in a totally different (to my mind, high-handed) manner, greatly to the detriment of the community it claims to represent. At a time of a cost of living crisis in this country and overall international political uncertainty, the possibility of such a massive and unsustainable uplift in rent resulted in Rana and Swarn suggesting a compromise to our Councillors; namely, that they would no longer rent the flat but instead, would commute daily to Woodstock from Slough. They felt they could manage this arrangement, but only until the Post Office break clause in the commercial lease could be exercised by them (i.e. in March 2028), which would then end their tenancy.

In the interim, Royal Mail would require notice of the termination of the Post Office to be given in advance of March 2028. In practice this means notice to terminate the Post Office in Woodstock will have to be given around the middle of next year. Once this happens, Royal Mail would begin to remove its postal equipment from the premises and the slow demise of an essential community asset for Woodstock and its outlying communities will have begun.

Our post office will cease to exist as such from 25 March 2028.

Woodstock Post Office is undeniably invaluable for the services it provides our community - and those of many surrounding villages. The list of these postal services is extensive: not just stamps. It also provides facilities for Post Office card accounts, cash deposits and withdrawals (NB we no longer have a bank here), bill payments, charging electricity key and gas cards, mobile phone top ups, car tax payments and multiple other services. Quite apart from all this, having a Post Office in town attracts other visitors here to use our pubs and cafes, and to shop in general. In effect, the Post Office is a community hub. We are at serious risk of losing this facility in the very near future.

To my mind, not enough thought has been given to the longer term implications of these latest proposals and the result that removing the Post Office would have on Woodstock and wider communities.

For example, how is it proposed that separate access be given to the flat above the shop, if the intention by the Town Council now is to let this out separately to the commercial premises beneath it? It has to have this entirely separate access in order to satisfy the security requirements of Royal Mail. There is none presently. The garage, quite clearly, would need to be retained for the tenant of the commercial premises. It is also part of that original Post Office lease. So how is it proposed that the flat is accessed independently? It can’t be, with the present layout. The alternative is to keep the flat empty - with no rent to the Council -until March 2028. That makes little sense.

This is not the only difficulty. Any future tenant of the commercial premises is extremely likely also to require the flat above the shop. If the flat is not vacant (even if it could be separately accessed) when the Post Office itself is yielded up, this is going to make it harder to find a suitable commercial tenant, let alone someone qualified as a Postmaster/mistress. Given the horrific and ongoing injustice of the Horizon scandal, these wonderful people who serve our community are not easily found. This makes the eventual loss of our Post Office even more likely if Woodstock councillors persist in their current actions.

So where do we go from here? How on earth has it come to this? How is it that such a significant and important decision involving a critical town amenity was taken by a mere handful of town councillors (just 5!) and behind closed doors (would you believe?!) on 16 June? Where is the common sense in all of this? Where is the judgement and thought behind this monumental decision? Where is the transparency and openness that this Council professes to espouse?

Instead I sense only shortsightedness and a failure to attach enough significance to the added non-monetary value which the Post Office service offers Woodstock people and our surrounding area. Of course the flat is ancillary to the Post Office. Certainly this has to be retained as such. Post office operatives should be given every encouragement to continue that service for all the benefit it provides for its customers far and wide, and indeed also for all our local businesses.

Over and above everything else, Woodstock must not lose its Post Office. Our Town Council, which is meant to represent its electors, must bend over backwards (and more) if need be, to ensure this cannot happen now, or ever. That is where the focus needs to be for the sake of both our residential and business communities. That is where the mandate for Town Councillors must be. This must be their legacy for our town and the means whereby Woodstock Town Council regains some of the respect it has lost as a result of such disastrous decision making in this matter.

Action by all our Town Councillors is demanded urgently to rectify this impending disaster. Woodstock cannot and must not lose its Post Office in some 18 months time. As I said, the clock is already ticking.