Kentish Express Ashford & District
Post Office to shut next week after 100 years in Tufton Street
Ashford’s Post Office will close next week and has already been put on the market for more than £800,000.
The Tufton Street branch has served the town since 1926 but will shut at 5.30pm on Wednesday (March 21) before reopening inside WHSmith the following day at 9am.
Four serving counters will be available at the high street book retailer, which will offer extended opening hours.
The three-storey Tufton Street building - which is not listed - is now on the market for offers in excess of £825,000.
Bosses at the BNP Paribas Real Estate company are advertising the property.
The 8,118 sq ft unit has been described by the agent as suitable for redevelopment with decorative stonework on the outside.
It comes with a basement, ground floor retail area and office space spread across the second and third floors.
There is also a private delivery road at the back of the building.
The sales brochure states that the property is “suitable for reconfiguration, refurbishment and a change of use subject to planning” and that the “upper floors are suitable for conversion to residential subject to planning”.
It is on a 99-year lease which is dated from 1977 - providing an unexpired term of approximately 57 years for potential buyers.
All services except for cash machines will be retained when the Post Office moves to WHSmith.
Extended opening hours will be offered at the High Street spot, which is about 160 metres away from the existing site.
At its current Tufton Street home, the Post Office does not open on Sundays but it will open from 10am to 2pm in WHSmith.
It will also be open from 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday.
WHSmith already runs 135 post offices in its branches nationwide.
The Post Office has spent almost 100 years at its current Tufton Street spot, following its move from Bank Street in 1926.
Last year, a public consultation ran for three months but chiefs received feedback from only 29 members of the public.
When asked about the future for the 13 staff staff at the Tufton Street site, a Post Office spokesman said: “TUPE [Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment] is an option that’s available to all staff and it’s up to them to decide if they move across, so it’s a personal decision.”
The TUPE regulations provide rights to employees when their employment changes when a business is transferred.
What do you think about the Post Office move? Email kentishexpress@thekmgroup. co.uk