Wokingham Post Office Faces Uncertain Future Again

Clive Jones MP is in talks with Post Office management after fears Wokingham could lose its town centre branch if the TG Jones store in Market Place closes in the coming weeks.

The row revives anger over the 2018-19 decision to move the town's crown Post Office from Broad Street into the former WHSmith unit in Market Place, putting it at the rear of the shop.

Clive Jones MP said: "It would have been much better to have left it where it was. But it was their decision at the time to move it."

Conservative group leader Pauline Jorgensen warned losing the branch would be "a further blow" to the town centre, especially as post offices are expected to fill gaps left by bank closures, and criticised the Liberal Democrats' stewardship of the centre.

Labour councillors say the risk was obvious when the Post Office was placed inside a retail outlet and blame the Lib Dems and Mr Jones for the move. Borough councillor Rachel Burgess added that relocating services into Smith's exposed them to "the vagaries" of the retailer's fortunes.

In 2018 Labour collected a petition of 6,000 signatures opposing the move. Mr Jones signed the petition and met the Post Office then with John Redwood and Philip Mirfin, and later worked to keep a presence in the town.

He said: "I don't recall Andy Croy meeting them." According to Mr Jones, the relocation kept a Post Office in Wokingham for a further eight years; the Post Office has said it is "determined to remain" and he is working with council officers and local businesses to find alternatives if TG Jones closes.

The dispute shows all parties want a town centre Post Office, but they sharply disagree over whether the current uncertainty was unavoidable or the result of decisions made nearly a decade ago.

Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter