THE Post Office has confirmed that due to limited funding it will not be looking to replace the Fairfield Farm post office in Dilton Marsh when it closes in December and instead it will be focussing on restoring a post office to Westbury.
Westbury has been without a town centre post office since January of this year after the supermarket giant Morrisons, who bought out the convenience store and newsagent chain McColl’s in 2022, took the decision to close the Westbury McColl’s and its post office due to the unprofitability of the store.
The Post Office now says that they are in talks with an applicant to restore a post office to the town centre. A Post Office spokesperson said, “We have an applicant for High Street, Westbury. This application is at the early stages of being considered.”
The Post Office has also said that following the announcement that the post office at Fairfield Farm in Dilton Marsh will close its doors in December of this year, they will not be looking to restore the service in the village due to limited funding and the availability of the post offices at The Ham (2.5 miles away) and Bratton (4.8 miles away).
The decision to close the post office in Dilton Marsh was taken by Fairfield Farm College, who run the post office, as they have been facing financial pressures that also resulted in the closure of its café and shop.
A Post Office spokesperson said, “Regarding Dilton Marsh post office, the postmaster has resigned, and the branch is due to close in December. Post Office has completed a review of service provision in the local area, prioritising the limited funding we have available to maintain services. We are not looking to replace the service at Dilton Marsh, and our priority is to restore a service to Westbury. Alternative branches in the area include The Ham and Bratton.”
The Wiltshire councillor for Ethandune (the villages surrounding Westbury) cllr Suzanne Wickham has been working hard to restore a post office to Dilton Marsh, but she has been told that the footfall of the village is not high enough to warrant a post office service.
“I have been in negotiations with Post Office officials to try and ensure that facilities could continue in Dilton Marsh when Fairfield Farm post office closes on 1st December,” she said. “Despite having found premises, it soon became apparent that the potential footfall in Dilton Marsh was not considered sufficient for a full-time post office and due to their business model changing, they are no longer able to consider a part-time facility.
“I am sorry that I was not successful, and I am disappointed for residents, who I know valued this service in their village. However, I have been working together with Westbury Town Council, to push for a new full time post office in the locality and I understand that there is potential for this to happen.”
By the end of this year the nearest post office services to Dilton Marsh are in The Ham and Bratton and concerns had previously been raised that these locations would be hard to access without a car. The Hollies Inn in Westbury Leigh previously put themselves forward to host a post office as they said that a potential post office could be accessed via a bus route for Dilton Marsh residents who do not drive, but their application was rejected as the Post Office said it was too far away from the town centre of Westbury.
Issues have also been raised with The Ham post office itself as one comment on the White Horse News Facebook page said, “The post office is a necessity. The tiny post office counter is not fit for purpose at The Ham. Staff coped really well during the wait for the one in McColl’s to open, but there is no room for more than one person at the counter; it’s a corner shop at a busy crossroads, with a small post office counter.”
