Bottesford Post Office refurbished and opened under new management after previous postmasters left in ‘vulnerable’ position

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Bottesford Post Office has officially reopened to the public under new management following a refurbishment of the branch.

The Post Office and adjoining shop, in Messingham Road, Scunthorpe, has undergone a refurbishment into a “new-style” local branch, with Post Office services offered alongside retail.

The longstanding branch – which was run for a number of years by an independent postmaster – has been taken over by Bestway, a national business which already operated the retail side of the store.

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As previously reported by Scunthorpe Live in April, the dedicated former postmasters at Bottesford Post Office were left in a “vulnerable” position after their leavers’ payment was cut “by more than half”.

The branch was among 130 across the country who opted to leave the network, after the former postmasters refused to change their contract to one of the new operating models as part of the £2bn Network Transformation Programme.

The new-style counter
(Image: Post Office)

Postmasters who did not wish to modernise their branches and convert to the new operating models were initially offered an 18-month leavers’ payout – increased to 26 months two years later – but this was suddenly cut by more than half to just a 12 months’ payout in what was dubbed the “new Post Office scandal” by critics.

In 2018, the Post Office made many Field Change Advisors – the team tasked with finding a replacement postmaster – redundant, leaving many postmasters “in limbo” since.

They then introduced the Hard-to-Place list, which covers offices that have failed to find a replacement postmaster.

A spokesperson for The National Federation of Sub-Postmasters (NFSP) explained at the time: “This is commonly due to location, declining footfall and can also be related to low remuneration. Most of these offices are in rural locations.

Bottesford Post Office on Messingham Road, Bottesford
(Image: Google)

“Post Office Ltd has now written to the remaining sub-postmasters, to inform them that the Network Transformation Programme will cease in March 2025, and forcing them to agree to a 12-month payment.

“Many of the sub-postmasters are past the state retirement age and/or have underlying health issues. Yet they continue to keep their offices open, serving their community while waiting, in vain, for someone to take over the business.

“[The NFSP] has tried to highlight the error in Post Office’s decision on numerous occasions, but the state-owned company has refused to accept that its offer of 12 months may leave colleagues with very little remaining after they pay tax, leases or mortgages, staff redundancies, and other associated costs such as clearing the Post Office counter from the premises.”

A Post Office spokesperson told Scunthorpe Live that they have provided affected postmasters with three options: leave the network with a 12 months’ exit payout, convert to a new-style contract and receive 12 months’ compensation and investment to modernise their branch, or continue trading on their existing contracts.

The Postmasters opted to leave the network with just a 12-month payout – despite the fact that they were originally assured they would receive a 26-month payout.

Initially, the new-style Bottesford Post Office will be open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and on Saturdays from 9am to 12.30pm. Long-term, the branch will open from Monday to Saturday, 8am to 9pm, and on Sundays from 8am to 8pm.

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe

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Bottesford Post Office refurbished and opened under new management after previous postmasters left in ‘vulnerable’ position

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