Negotiations continue
Andrew has continued to hold meetings with Post Office Ltd. and Basildon Council officers, facilitated by John Baron, M.P.
I just wanted to give residents an update on my ongoing conversations with Post Office Ltd. about retaining Billericay Post Office, following my last blog in November.
Our local Member of Parliament, John Baron, has continued to facilitate meetings with the Post Office, which I have attended along with the Leader of Basildon Council, Cllr. Andrew Baggott, as well as the Cabinet Member for Business Engagement, Cllr. Anthony Hedley, and Jim Sims, Head of Economic Development at the Council. We have also been joined by Cllr. Jim Devlin from Billericay Town Council.
Our conversations with the Post Office have been constructive and positive. We have had two meetings and everyone remains focused on retaining counter services in Billericay High Street. Obviously, I am somewhat constrained in what I can say while discussions are ongoing between the Post Office and potential new sub-postmasters for Billericay but I just wanted to let you know, as far as I am able, where things presently stand.
While the Post Office's clear preference would be for the branch to remain in its current location at 93-95 High Street, it does seem increasingly likely that the premises is simply going to be too large and too costly for many operators. But we are continuing to explore this option.
Meanwhile, the Council is proactively working with the Post Office to look at smaller premises available in the High Street. There are a couple of potential options being looked at but all of these come with challenges - particularly around parking and access arrangements. At the moment, it remains the Post Office's ambition for Billericay High Street to continue to enjoy a 3-counter Main Office and they do have a number of potential new partners interested in this opportunity. I am certainly of the view that the local community would be better served by securing a like-for-like service provision, so that continues to be what we are striving towards.
That said, I am much less confident than when we first met with the Post Office earlier in the year that we will have a replacement up and running in time before the One Stop closes in November and I think it is really important that I level with you all on that. I do not want to leave residents with the impression that this is all some kind of foregone conclusion. I am having to work quite hard on it and there are some knotty problems to unpick before we will have a really clear way forward that I would have confidence in.
One of the big challenges is Post Office funding for the next financial year. Due to the challenging economic climate, coupled with ongoing funding constraints, the Post Office has had to revise some of its network plans and there is no funding available this year for capital expenditure on fitting out a new premises. So, if the branch does indeed have to move from 93-95 High Street, any fit-out would need to be funded by the successful applicant. This clearly presents a challenge for any potential applicants.
Having now discussed this at length with the Post Office, they have said that they can support applicants through their onboarding process until funding may become available in the next financial year, from March 2025. In the meantime, I can assure residents that I will continue to engage with the Post Office to explore all potential opportunities to secure a new branch as soon as possible to replace One Stop. Notwithstanding these challenges, I do remain determined to ensure that Billericay retains this service and will do everything in my power to avoid any gap between One Stop closing in November and a new branch opening, if I possibly can.
I would like to thank John Baron, M.P. and his office for their help in hosting these meetings and to my colleagues Cllrs. Baggott, Hedley and Devlin and Mr. Sims for their support, as well as the Post Office for their positive engagement.
In more positive news, in tandem with these discussions, Mr. Baron and I have also continued to speak to Cash Access UK and there was a further meeting last week. They have confirmed that we will be getting a new ATM machine in town into which residents will be able to deposit cash as well as withdraw it. The exact location of the new ATM is to be confirmed but should be operational in May and will accept deposits from all major banks. Later in the Summer it will also start accepting coin deposits.
This is a big win for Billericay, as I gather we will be only the second town in the country to benefit from such a facility!
I am also aware there are rumours flying around about Santander closing. Mr. Baron wrote to Santander earlier this month and received a reply from their Head of Branch Interactions advising him that Santander is committed to ensuring their customers can safely bank through a range of channels, including in-person at branches. They assure us that they have no plans to close our High Street.
I shall, of course, endeavour to keep residents updated of further developments.
