Woolbrook Post Office to stay open during handover

Post Office staff in Woolbrook are reassuring residents that the service will not be interrupted by the handover if it becomes a vets.

Bob and Doreen Cummins are retiring and ending the lease on their Woolbrook Road shop, which will be taken over by a veterinary surgery.

The new tenant, Peter Martin, was going to operate the Post office during the transition, although he last week had plans supported by Sidmouth Town Council to change the use of the building directly to a surgery.

The Post Office has been listed on the organisation’s website and has attracted interest from at least one neighbouring business.

Bob said: “Everybody wins: we get to retire, Woolbrook gets a vets and someone gets the Post Office.

“We can’t say when we’ll get to move out, there are a lot of forces involved – the Post Office, the vets, planning committees, the landlord – it’s dependent on a lot of things.”

Bob and Doreen will continue to operate the business after their shop closes at the end of October, and will sell stationery, lottery tickets and run the pay station, but will cease selling groceries.

Bob predicts the transfer of the Post Office will happen before Christmas.