Kirkwall Post Office set to close to allow transfer to new operator

Kirkwall Post Office will close temporarily for a period next week to facilitate the transition to a new operator.

The branch located on Junction Road will transfer to Universal Office Equipment (UOE) as part of Post Office plans to move to a fully-franchised network.

To allow this transfer to take place, the branch will close at 3pm on Thursday, November 13, and it will reopen at 9am on Saturday, November 15.

A Post Office spokeswoman said: “Due to the remote location of this branch the transfer will take an extra half day than originally anticipated and we apologise for any inconvenience that this temporary closure will cause.”

In the interim, the nearest alternative branch is at Papdale Stores.

The transition comes as the Post Office offloads its 108 Directly Managed Branches (DMB), of which Kirkwall is one, and move to a fully franchised model.

A review is also being carried out on the long-term arrangements and premises for the Kirkwall branch.