HYDE’S MP Jonathan Reynolds has welcomed the decision to maintain the town’s Post Office at its current arrangements.
The branch, on Market place, will soon be run by First Class Retail after the decision was made to franchise all Crown depots.
Now Martin Edwards, Transformation Delivery Director at Post Office Limited, has revealed the switch, which should be completed by September, will result in no loss of services.
In fact, he says it will mean more in the form of extended hours on Tuesdays, opening at 9am instead of 9.30am.
In a letter, he states: “The branch will soon be operated by an independent franchise retail partner, FirstClass Managerial Ltd (First Class Retail), from the current premises, offering the same wide range of services, and extended opening on Tuesday
mornings.
“We are finalising our plans, and we anticipate this change will happen by September 2025.”
The Post Office is moving to a fully franchised network by Autumn and bosses ‘are confident this will create a long-term, sustainable future for post offices in communities across the UK, including Hyde branch.’
News of the decision to keep things as they are in Hyde, with the extra half an hour of opening, has been praised by Mr Reynolds, who is the country’s business secretary.
He said: “The Post Office have now made the decision to franchise all of the Crown Post Offices, which includes Hyde, and to complete this process by autumn.
“The Post Office have stated that doing this will enable them to fund increases in pay for postmasters, build a more sustainable network of post offices across the UK, all while continuing to deliver the services currently provided by Crown branches.
“In practice, this means that the branch will continue to operate from the same premises, with customers being able to access the same products and services.
“I welcome this decision as it will mean postmasters earn more pay and will ensure that Hyde Post Office and post offices across every bit of the UK stay open.”