Kingswood residents face a six-month gap without local Post Office services after officials confirmed its branch will shut permanently by the end of the year.
The Kings Chase Shopping Centre’s Post Office branch will shut for good on November 18.
The shutdown follows the impending closure of retailer TG Jones – formerly WHSmith- which operates the branch and will close its doors on November 24.
While the Post Office confirmed it is negotiating to relocate the branch to another undisclosed shop in Kingswood town centre, the transition will leave the area without a branch for at least six months.
However South Gloucestershire Council, Praxis (which manages King’s Chase on the council’s behalf), local Labour councillors, and Bristol North East MP Damien Egan have vowed to explore options for retaining continuous Post Office services at the centre.
According to Mr Egan, whose constituency covers Kingswood, the fit-out process for a replacement venue takes roughly half a year, meaning a new site is not expected to open until April or May 2027 at the earliest.
The Post Office has ruled out setting up a temporary facility during the interim, citing setup time and the proximity of alternative branches in Hanham, Staple Hill, and Fishponds.
In a statement posted on Facebook last week Mr Egan, said: “The Post Office have confirmed to me that they’re currently negotiating moving the post office to another shop in Kingswood, they couldn’t tell me which one, but said it would be in the Town Centre.
“They allow six months to get a new post office fitted out and ready to open. While they expect to be able to confirm where the new post office will be before TG Jones closes. There will be a gap before it opens.
“If their timings are accurate, it would mean they would let us know where the new post office will be in October/November, which would mean an anticipated opening of April/May 2027.”
‘1,500 people use the Post Office in Kingswood every week’
Mr Egan went on to say that he had asked about services in the meantime and whether a temporary post office could be set-up. He added: “Approximately 1,500 people use the Post Office in Kingswood every week, while most of the services – mail and banking for instance, can be done from any Post Office.
“Kingswood does also provide a Document Certification Service and in-person support for driving license and passport applications – these services I was told would be available from Staple Hill or Fishponds.
“For bill payments, these can be done at any shop displaying a ‘Payzone’ or ‘Paypoint’ sticker.”
He went on to say that the Post Office have agreed to meet again to update him on the new post office location.
He added: “Finally, how sad to lose TG Jones and sorry to hear people are losing their jobs. It’s been there (as WH Smith’s) since as long as I can remember and feels like a big loss for the high street. Councillors are on the case to South Glos, in terms of promoting the site and let’s hope someone else will take on and it isn’t left empty for too long.”
