It has been confirmed that the Banbury Post Office currently located on the High Street will relocate to the WH Smith store in the Castle Quay Shopping Centre.

In January it was announced by the Post Office that 39 Post Office branches were under threat of closure unless franchises could be found for the branches to relocate to. Before the deal with WH Smith, Banbury was singled out as one of the branches that could close completely.

The closure of the High Street branch is expected at 19:30 on the 9th November, with the new WH Smith franchise opening at 9:00 on the 10th November 2016.

Banbury MP Victoria Prentis commented: “While I know that some of my constituents had expressed concerns about the franchising of the Banbury Post Office, I am really relieved that it has been possible to retain such an important service in the town centre.

“WH Smith is an accessible location; moving the branch to a retail setting will enable the post office to continue serving the community. I would much rather this scenario than Banbury’s post office closing altogether.”

Staff at the current branch are being supported during the transition and assurances have been made that current branch services will continue after relocation.