Woodley Post Office Faces Closure Amid Store Shutdown

The Post Office is hunting for a new branch in Woodley after the Morrisons Daily store there is set to close.

A post office has been at the convenience store near the end of Crockhamwell Road for many years. The shop was previously a McColl's and became Morrisons Daily in November 2024.

Morrisons Daily will shut on Friday, August 21, with the Post Office closing two days earlier on Wednesday, August 19.

In a letter, Billy Ware, a corporate account manager at the Post Office, warned of the closures in writing and said: "I am writing to advise that our retail partner, Morrisons have now confirmed their decision to close the Woodley Morrisons Daily store and, as a result, the Woodley Post Office branch will also need to close."

He added: "The provision of a Post Office service to our customers in the area is important to us, and we are working hard to find a solution to continue offering Post Office services to the local community in Woodley."

He also said: "We are currently in the early stages of reviewing an application to run the Post Office branch, and we will provide a further update on our plans as soon as possible."

Shoppers have reacted with concern. William Lawrence theorised that Morrisons is closing the Daily stores to prioritise its supermarkets, and the Retail Gazette says the company has begun closing around 100 Daily shops.

A local woman said: "What are you supposed to do? Go into town [Reading]? That's ridiculous."

Residents can meanwhile use postal services at MAS News in Brecon Road, Broad Street Mall in Reading town centre, or Wheelers Green Post Office at The Parade in Coppice Road, Woodley.

Details of the closure were shared on Woodley Facebook groups by councillor Keith Baker. He noted the former Just Tiles building in Headley Road has become a Morrisons Daily, Mass Barbers and the Berkshire Village Farm Shop, and said: "I don't know whether it's linked, but they [Morrisons] may have drawn the conclusion that they don't need two."

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter