Calls for Government investigation into nine-month Post Office closure
There have been calls for a Government investigation into why a lifeline Post Office was allowed to remain shut for nine months.
The Post Office branch, on Tong Street, serves the Holme Wood estate in Bradford and shut suddenly in October 2025.
There has since been little detail about why the branch closed, and Holme Wood councillors raised serious concerns that residents were left with no indication when any service might return.
This month the Post Office announced the branch would re-open in July – nine months after it initially shut – with a new postmaster.
Councillors are now calling for a Government investigation into the handling of the branch closure.
The Green councillors that represent the Holme Wood and Bierley Ward say they have serious questions about how an entire community was left without access to essential services for so long.
Councillor Matt Edwards, Coun Celia Hickson and Coun Iain McInnes have written to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection Kate Dearden MP, calling for a full investigation into the closure.
Coun Edwards, leader of the Green Party group on Bradford Council, said: “I know local residents are pleased to see our local Post Office reopening, but we cannot simply pretend the last nine months never happened.
“Thousands of people were left without access to an essential local service, and repeated concerns raised by residents and local councillors were ignored by the Post Office. Many residents do not drive and were forced to make long and expensive journeys just to withdraw cash, collect pensions or send post.
“What concerns us most is that nobody from Post Office seems willing to explain how this happened, why it took so long to fix, or why no temporary service was put in place.”
The councillors are asking the Minister to investigate whether Post Office Ltd followed its own procedures when the branch closed, why no interim arrangements were made, and why communication with residents and elected representatives was so poor.
Coun Edwards added: “Too often we were met with vague responses and a lack of urgency from Post Office. Residents deserve to know why their community was left without an essential service for nine months, and we need to make sure this never happens again, whether in Holme Wood or anywhere else in the country.”
The branch is due to reopen on July 21 at its existing premises under new management.
In response to the criticism, a Post Office spokesperson said: “We know how important a Post Office is to a community and we are delighted to soon be restoring service to the community.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers since Tong Street Post Office closed in October due to operational reasons. We worked hard to re-open a branch as soon as possible.”