Town gets its post office back after two years

A market town is set to get its post office back, two years after the closure of the branch.

The Post Office said that "quite a few obstacles" had impacted on the reopening of the facility at the Costcutter store in Helmsley.

A branch in the same location shut in 2022 and will begin trading again on 26 November. A temporary post office counter at the nearby Black Swan Hotel will then close.

The original reopening date was scheduled for July before delays pushed it back.

Mark Gibson, Post Office manager for the north of England, said: “When it first shut back in November 2022, it was quite short notice and was sort of dropped on us, so we were just left with this closure and therefore had to deal with it.

“We were then met with quite a few obstacles when trying to reopen and we are sorry for the delay.

“We were grateful to get a temporary solution put in place, as we appreciate there was quite a lot of angst over the loss in the area and totally understand how important local post offices are, particularly in Helmsley.”

The closure of the Costcutter counter in 2022 came at the same time as the store ceased trading, and both will now reopen.

The branch had provided cash banking, but the temporary service in The Black Swan Hotel was only available for three days a week.

Ian Murphy, Post Office network provision lead, said it was recognised that the branch provided vital services and opportunities for social interaction among those who used it.

He said: “We are delighted to be restoring a permanent post office to Helmsley as we know how important a post office is to a community.

“We are very grateful for the owner of Black Swan Hotel to providing accommodation for the temporary Helmsley Post Office and for the temporary postmaster maintaining service to the community whilst we worked towards a permanent branch.”

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.