ELDERLY residents are being forced to travel out of East Oxford to visit a post office after their local branch on Cowley Road closed, with efforts now being made to reinstate it.

Labour city councillor for St Clement's, Tom Hayes, is urging Post Office bosses to reopen a counter in the area as soon as possible.

Mr Hayes said the branch in Honest Stationery in Cowley Road, open since 2014, closed without a full explanation at the end of last year, with the Post Office citing 'operational reasons'.

He said: "People in my ward are very concerned about this.

"The nearest Post Office now is in Abingdon Road and that's a long way to go if you don't have transport.

"I have written a few times to the Post Office chief executive to no avail and I would like the Post Office to give an indication when a new branch could open in the area.

"There used to be a Post Office counter in the Co-op at the junction of Cowley Road and Divinity Road so there are places where a new branch could go.

"People in the area have been without a Post Office for too long and this needs to be sorted out as soon as possible."

Donnington Post Office, in Iffley Road, ‘temporarily’ closed in March when Globe News Market changed hands.

In a letter to Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells Mr Hayes said: "Citing 'operational reasons' for the closure, the Post Office did not find a temporary Postmaster.

"Nor did the Post Office explain why a perfectly good site in Honest Stationery suddenly seemed to them to be unfit for use just two years after moving the branch 125 metres across Cowley Road from its previous site.

"Then the Post Office opted to give East Oxford users just five days notice before closing Donnington Post Office in Iffley Road.

"The closures of Cowley Road and Donnington post offices have caused the wider local community huge difficulties, given they are within a short distance of each other.

"I’m hearing from lots of residents who need a local Post Office because they simply can’t make it all the way to Abingdon Road or Cowley Centre branches.

"The Post Office says that they are committed to retaining Post Office services in the local vicinity of Cowley Road and Donnington.

"We are seeing no sign that the Post Office is moving quickly or doing all it can to restore an indispensable service."

A member of staff at Honest Stationery said: "The Post Office won't be coming back here."

The Post Office sent Mr Hayes an email which said it was 'unable to provide a timescale at this stage'.

Post Office spokeswoman Sheila Tapster said: "We are committed to restoring Post Office services to Donnington as soon as possible.

"Unfortunately Donnington Post Office closed in March due to the retirement of the Postmaster and nearby Cowley Road Post Office closed in December due to operational reasons beyond our control.

"Both vacancies are currently advertised on our website runpaostoffice.co.uk

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the temporary closure of these branches. Alternative branches include Abingdon Road and Cowley Centre."