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Sudbury Post Office gets reprieve after closure announcement

Luke Deal/BBC The pop-up Post Office in Sudbury ahead of its opening on 22 JuneLuke Deal/BBC
The pop-up Post Office, in the Borehamgate shopping precinct, pictured ahead of its opening on 22 June 2022, two weeks after the branch in WH Smith closed

A town of 20,000 is to keep its pop-up Post Office after a reprieve a day after its closure was announced.

The service in Sudbury, Suffolk, closed in June 2022 and was replaced two weeks later with a pop-up branch.

On Thursday, the national Post Office said it would close because the postmaster had decided to withdraw the service, off King Street, from Friday.

A spokesman has now confirmed the branch was open and "for now it will continue to operate as normal".

After the closure of the branch in WH Smith, the pop-up opened in May and residents hoped it would become permanent.

The national office had said that would not be the case and a spokesman "apologised for any inconvenience".

Sudbury's Market Hill showing the market and church
The Post Office used to be in the town's WH Smith on Market Hill

People in the town were told the nearest alternative services would be at Great Cornard, just over a mile (1.6km) away, or Great Waldingfield, four miles (6.2km) away.

The Post Office originally said: "We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by this closure at short notice.

"We are currently reviewing service provision for Sudbury and will share a further update as soon as we can."

On Friday, a spokeswoman for the national Post Office in London said: "We are pleased to announce that Sudbury Post Office will no longer be closing today as planned and for now it will continue to operate as normal at 8 Borehamgate, King Street, Sudbury, CO10 2EG."

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