Concern as Welsh town’s main Post Office to close

Emily Price 

A Welsh town with a population of around 40,000 people is about to lose its main Post Office.

Caerphilly’s Post Office located at the town’s Castle Court Shopping Centre will close on 8 August 2026 at 17:30.

It comes following the resignation of the branch’s former postmaster and the withdrawal of the premises for Post Office use.

In a message to Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Deputy Leader, Shayne Cook, the Post Office said: “I would like to assure you that we are working hard to keep any period of closure to a minimum and we are currently investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community.

“In exploring this, it is important that any future service is sustainable for the person operating the service, and for Post Office Limited.

“The vacancy will soon be advertised on our website www.runapostoffice.co.uk and applications will be carefully considered.

“If you are aware of any interested parties, please do share the link with them.

“Any future changes to service provision would be handled in line with our Principles of Community Engagement. An extract relating to Notification is available at the end of this letter.

“We apologise for the inconvenience the closure may cause. We hope that our customers will continue to use Post Office services and details of possible alternative Post Office branches in the area are shown at the end of this letter.”

Concerns have been raised that the closure of the town’s main branch could leave locals cut off from key services.

The branch’s workforce had already been reduced from eight staff members several years ago to only two current workers.

When two of the banks in Caerphilly closed, customers were informed that they could pay their money in directly to the Post Office – but with the branch closing this will no longer be an option.

In the UK, the government in Westminster owns and controls the Post Office network.

The Senedd in Cardiff Bay has no powers over it – despite this branch closure being a central issue to Caerphilly.

Plaid Cymru’s leading Senedd election candidate in the Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni constituency, Delyth Jewell, said: “The closure of the post office in the town centre would be more than a mere inconvenience.

“It could cut people off from the services they use day-in, day-out. People go to the post office to collect their pensions, to send parcels, and to keep in contact with loved ones.

“Not everyone has a bank account, and not everyone will be able to simply ‘do things online’.

“Closing this service would mean cutting people off – it cannot be allowed to happen.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “TGJones has made the commercial decision to close its store in Caerphilly where Caerphilly Post Office is currently based.

“The branch will be closing on 8 August at 5.30pm. We apologise for any inconvenience that this closure may cause customers.

“We know how important a Post Office is to a community and the vacancy is advertised on www.runapostoffice.co.uk. We would welcome interest from local retailers.

“There are alternative branches at Castle View, which is 1.3 miles away and Penyrheol, which is 1.5 miles away.”