Bishop’s Waltham businessman saves town’s post office

Those are the words of a Bishop’s Waltham businessman who has bought the town’s post office.

Donald Iro, who is a former vice-chairman of Bishop’s Waltham Parish Council, took over the business after the previous owner decided to step down.

Mr Iro said that the Post Office is one of the most important parts of the community, saying: "When you think of Bishop’s Waltham, there are five things that have represented the town.

"The first one, depending on where you’re coming in from, is The Toll, which leads to the railway line, which is now a walk, and on the High Street you had the Barclays and the Lloyds bank, which had been there for donkey’s years, and then you’ve got the church and post office.

"At every iteration of Bishop’s Waltham in art or media, these areas keep repeating themselves over the years.

Donald Iro (Image: Donald Iro)

"There’s a picture from 1907 that has the post office in there, so it’s quite an important institution.

"It’s quite central; I know we’ve got an ageing population; it was a concern when I was on the parish council, bringing banks and financial services to the people as they were leaving at the time.

"The Post Office was advertised in the summer as being for sale, and I contacted Jeannette (Gardiner), who has been there for years – you go into the Post Office, and she is the Post Office – and I asked what was going on and we had a conversation about it."

Mr Iro’s purchase of the Post Office allowed it to stay open, after Post Office had previously warned that the branch would close after it was withdrawn for Post Office use.

The post office team have all retained their jobs, with Mr Iro saying that he would be acting as "a money man", allowing it to keep operating.

He added that although ‘there is a new sheriff in town’, the majority of services are staying the same, although he is hoping to expand the Post Office down the line.

This includes expanding its retail offering, working to add a bank hub, as well as keeping people up to date with what is going on via social media.

He said: "I want to run it like a profitable business. We are receiving feedback from the community as well. It is about growing the Post Office and making it what it used to be."