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'It will hit my business hard if post office shuts'

BBC Kenneth Sunday is smiling and wearing square framed glasses. He has a beard and is wearing a grey long sleeved hoodie underneath a black padded body warmer. There is a Christmas stall behind him, in Birmingham city centre.BBC
Kenneth Sunday says his mum would have to travel a long way to send parcels to Nigeria if Birmingham city centre's post office closes

Major Post Office branches in the Midlands face being axed as part of a national shake-up to restructure the business.

Branches in Redditch, Oswestry and Birmingham are are among 115 that could close.

They involve the Post Office's wholly-owned branches, not those run as a franchise by sub-postmasters.

The taxpayer-owned business is revising it franchise arrangements that could see other operators, like retailer WHSmith, take on those branches.

The Midlands branches facing possible closure:

  • Birmingham, 1 Pinfold Street
  • Oswestry, 17 Willow Street
  • Redditch, Alcester Street, Threadneedle

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, has launched an online petition to save the Shropshire branch.

Morgan said the closure threatened to remove easy access to essential postal and banking services, "particularly important for elderly residents, small businesses, and those without access to reliable public transport".

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In Birmingham, Kenneth Sunday says he relies heavily on his local post office, in order to sell trainers and clothing on Vinted.

"My local post office is very important to me, I use them every single week," he told the BBC.

"It would be extremely difficult to deliver things without it, if it were to close because I use it post my stuff."

His mother, he says, also relies on the branch, in order to send items to Nigeria.

"Without the one she uses now, we would have to make trips to another shop out of the area in order to use the post office service," said Mr Sunday.

Tim Cartlidge, who lives in a small village in Staffordshire, said his community would be at a huge loss if the post office was lost.

"Without our local post office we would have to drive into town, which is about five miles away," he said.

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