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04
Jul 2024
Concerns raised over plans for Knaresborough Post Office
Concerns have been raised about the future ownership of Knaresborough Post Office.
The Post Office closed suddenly last month after the building was repossessed by property development firm Depho Estates Ltd, which owns the site on High Street.
The Post Office was run by Nottingham-based VPS PVT Ltd, which according to Companies House documents entered voluntary liquidation on June 13.
It owed £253,000 to HMRC as well as £124,000 to other creditors.
A Depho Estates spokesperson said the old building could be reopened as a Post Office within days and that it was willing to facilitate this.
But the national Post Office is consulting on plans to open a branch in nearby Lloyds Pharmacy — a process which could take months.
The Depho spokesperson said it understood the Post Office was considering allowing Ankur Singh, the sole director of VPS PVT Ltd, to apply to be postmaster.
They added it would be “flabbergasting” for this to happen considering the amount of money owed by VPS PVT Ltd when it went into liquidation.
The spokesperson said reopening its premises as a Post Office would be “the best thing for the town” and two potential postmasters had expressed an interest.
But they added that if the issue remained unresolved for long the firm would be inclined to let it to a retail business instead rather than allow it to sit empty.
We asked the Post Office for an update on the situation in Knaresborough and whether it was considering letting the new premises be operated by Mr Singh.
A Post Office spokesperson said:
We are working hard to restore Post Office services to Knaresborough as soon as possible. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that this unplanned closure maybe causing.
We have already begun the consultation on proposed plans to relocate Knaresborough Post Office across the road to 34 High Street, Knaresborough.
The enforcement notice.
The Stray Ferret replied to say this did not answer the question about Mr Singh. The Post Office spokesperson replied:
At this stage we are not providing a comment about who will operate Knaresborough Post Office at the new location.
The Stray Ferret has made multiple attempts to contact Mr Singh, but has not had a response.
Starbeck Post Office is the nearest Post Office to Knaresborough but people can pay in cash and cheques and withdraw cash and do bill payments, utility payments and top-ups at Knaresborough Banking Hub on Kirkgate.
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