Isle of Man Post Office announced in May 2019 that the St. John's Post Office would close on 7th August 2019 however in July 2019 the closure was postponed until 30th December 2019.
This news article reports that the postponement of the closure and quotes the chair of Isle of Man Post as say 'the board considered serveral options to maintian services in St. John's and this one was the simplest for all parties.
The Isle of Man Post Office press release is shown below:
''Following the announcement in May that the sub postmaster of St Johns Post Office was to step down on the 7th August, seeing an end to postal services in the village, Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) is pleased to advise customers that the closure period has been extended to 30th December 2019.
IOMPO has gained agreement from the current sub postmaster of St Johns, Mr Rob Knighton, to continue to deliver post office services on a reduced basis from now until the end of the year. Mr Knighton has agreed to assist IOMPO beyond his agreed contract end period to support IOMPO in delivering the Retail Strategy to Tynwald in October, and providing a service to the St Johns community during the peak Christmas period.
Julie Edge MHK, Chairman of IOMPO said: "Mr Knighton will continue to provide post office services between 09:00 and 12:00hrs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until 31st December 2019, by that time IOMPO will know the framework we will operate going forward. We do hope that the community will continue to support the post office."
She continued: "The IOMPO Board considered several options to maintain the delivery of post office services in St Johns and this option is the simplest and seamless for all parties. We are grateful to Mr Knighton for his cooperation and assistance in continuing to provide postal services to the residents of St Johns and the surrounding area for a little longer than he had planned. We are especially grateful in light of his reasons for stepping down, which are in the main, due to falling transaction numbers, putting the financial status of his business in doubt."
IOMPO will be bringing forward its report and strategic recommendations for the future of postal counter services on the Island to Tynwald in October, when the future direction will be debated and agreed upon.'
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The full article on the Manx Radio website is shown below:
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Post office to remain in St John's, for nowFriday, July 5th, 2019 3:06pm
Extension agreed with sub-postmaster
Post office counter services will remain in St John's, in some capacity, until the end of the year.
Isle of Man Post Office has confirmed an agreement has been reached with the sub-postmaster, who was due to leave his position next month.
The counter was set to shut after that.
Instead, Rob Knighton will provide services on a reduced basis, operating between 9am and midday on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Julie Edge MHK, who's chair of the post office, says the board considered several options to maintain services in St John's and this one was the simplest for all parties.
She says the board is, 'particularly grateful in light of his reasons for stepping down, which are in the main due to falling transaction numbers, putting the financial status of his business in doubt.'
The post office will be bringing forward its report and recommendations for the future of postal counter services on the Island to Tynwald in October.' (
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