The lasting impact of Post Office transformation: a Welsh view
Since 2012, 484 post offices around Wales have been modernised or moved into new premises such as convenience stores, newsagents and pharmacies.
These changes have been part of the Network Transformation Programme, a £1 billion programme of work designed both to help maintain the sustainability of the post office network and retain or improve access for vulnerable consumers.
Our report [ 2.7 mb] has revealed accessibility concerns in over 1 in 5 (21%) of the 122 post offices we mystery shopped in Wales.
Across Wales, we found restricted access in almost 1 in 5 (17%) locations, with cases of retail stock and fixed displays restricting the movement around the premises. Of the 6 post offices that are required to provide disabled access parking, 3 did not have dedicated disabled bays in place. We also found level access concerns in 6% of locations which included instances of steps, uneven thresholds or no ramps available.
Citizens Advice presented these accessibility concerns to Post Office Limited and as a result, they have committed to improving 100% of the post office locations in question. This includes ensuring disabled parking bays are put in place. Obstacles causing restricted access have already been removed in 20 branches and Post Office Limited is working with operators on the lack of level access in 7 branches.