McColl’s Newsagent and Post Office at Gainsborough Green will be closing in early October. A lot of people will be upset by this closure as it leaves South Abingdon without a post office, and the closest alternative is in town.
The notice in the window blames staff shortages for having to close at 5pm rather than later.
P.S. Didn’t get my facts right first time round so have updated this post.
This is a very busy sub-office and its closure (let’s hope temporary) will be a blow to many people. We were told that privatisation would mean better services. What is has meant in the case of the Post Office is massive down-sizing. Another example, I fear, of governments promising more than they can deliver.
At one time there was a designated post office with a full time post office employee in this shop. I was told that the post office do not pay the shop enough to employ a person to operate the post office.
good BREXIT dig…
McColl’s is closing the shop on Oct 4th. They are stopping paper deliveries from next Saturday.
I’ve had my paper delivered from them for over forty years, need to look for a new deliverer.
During those forty years they must have had over 100 managers there, never any consistency.
Now there is a cattery crisis. The cattery that had been at Abivale Vets closed last year. The cattery in Didcot is closing at the end of October. I asked why. I was told that new council rules has made it harder to run a cattery. Apparently there has to be someone on the premises 24/7. They said that they cannot afford the extra staff to comply.
There was a long discussion about this on the Abingdon FB page. Apparently the guy who owns the rather run down supermarket also owns the lease on McColl’s and won’t renew it. McColl’s is taking business of him. Apparently he has applied to run the PO – but they won’t let him for whatever reason.
That would be Reggie then? Apparently when the Saxton arms came up for sale he bought it under the nose of Tesco to stop them opening an express there? He developed it into flats, seems he doesn’t believe in competition, just opposition!