Sudbury to get pop-up post office as short-term solution

BBC Sudbury Market Hill in the daytimeBBC
The current Post Office in Sudbury is located within a WH Smith store

A mobile pop-up is to be used as a short-term solution when a town with a population of 20,000 people loses its only post office.

The Post Office recently announced it was closing the branch in Sudbury, Suffolk, on 9 June.

Babergh District Council said it had since granted a licence for a mobile unit on Borehamgate shopping precinct until a long-term solution was found.

The council said it was "delighted" to find an interim solution.

It said it had granted the licence for the mobile pop-up after talks with the Post Office.

"Discussions continue in the hope that we can also agree a longer-term solution to ensure the town and high street can look forward to a thriving future," added Independent Conservative John Ward, leader of the council.

It is not yet known what days or hours the mobile unit will operate, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The nearest post office to Sudbury is in Great Cornard, a mile (1.6km) away, although there were concerns about how surrounding towns and villages would be able to cope.

The Post Office had said it was "deeply sorry" to announce the closure of the Sudbury branch, which is based inside WH Smith.

It said it was "working hard" to find an alternative premise in the area where a post office could operate.

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