THE closure of a Walney post office has been branded ‘a big loss’ after it announced it will not reopen after lockdown.

Mill Lane Post Office has confirmed it will not reopen its doors after closing four months ago amid the coronavirus lockdown.

The postal business’ official closure was confirmed by customer relationship manager Marianne Livesey, 40, who runs the Walney post office.

In a heartfelt post online, she said: “It’s with the deepest regret and heartbreak to inform you that I won’t be reopening the Post Office on Mill Lane.

“I am only paid per transaction. Customer numbers and transactional pay had fallen by nearly a half in the four years I’ve owned the business.”

Ms Livesey said the closure was because of a combination of factors such as people shopping online, banking being carried out online, and the coronavirus pandemic, which left the business ‘no choice but to have to no longer trade’.

She said: “Trust me, I’ve had many a sleepless night over this, especially in the last few months, when my priority was to keep my staff safe and closing the post office when lockdown started was a very difficult decision for me, and this was a harder decision.

“I’ve tried so hard to make it work, you all know how many times I’ve moved the shop round and tried to introduce new things, but it wasn’t financially viable to keep going, and I hope you can appreciate how hard I did try.

“I’ve had to make three staff redundant, which was the most heartbreaking thing I’ve done in my life.

“A massive thank you to all my lovely customers on Walney that made me so welcome.”

North Walney Cllr Des Barlow offered his sympathy for the staff working at Mill Lane Post Office.

He said: “I know a lot of elderly residents benefitted from that post office so it will definitely be a big loss for them.

“I’m hoping someone will buy the premises and take the post office on.”

The Post Office will be actively seeking a new operator to ensure a continued service.