Old Town Post Office, Shop and Cafe
The Post Office and Shop have been here in Old Town for as long as most of us can remember. Bob and Yvonne ran it for many many years, at the heart of community life.
On Bob and Yvonne’s retirement, Wadsworth residents Sarah, Alex and Eddy bought the business and developed the living accommodation into a much loved coffee shop and an upstairs flat. With all this at stake, we knew we had to act to try to save this well-loved resource for the community.
So, whilst setting up our society, we were also talking with the owners to gather information about the business and property so that we could investigate the viability of purchasing it on behalf of the community.
We engaged 2 local residents: Third Sector Accountancy expert Patrick Morrello and, via a Booster Grant from Co-ops UK, who funded consultancy support from 241 Co-operators Consultant Hannah Nadim. We also set up Working Groups – anyone who wanted to get involved was welcome – to manage the detailed work in each area; and each one answered back to the Board.
In all there were 30 people involved in some element of the following: The Business Plan, Independent Reports, Community Engagement, Fundraising and Events, Learning Visits, and Staffing. At this point we need to say a huge thank you to all who got involved in this way. What we seemed to have gathered, with no undue effort on our behalf, was an amazing group of well-informed, positive and supportive people, who gave their time and expertise willingly. So thank you!
Sadly, despite much negotiation and soul searching on both sides, WACA and the current owners were unable to agree a purchase price and so, in summer, WACA stepped back from negotiations and the current owners followed up a possible leasehold purchaser – someone who would buy the business and then rent the property from them. After a couple of false starts this is the option that is currently being followed, and here is the most recent update as of November 2025 from Sarah, one of the current owners: “The sale of the business lease is progressing well. Alex and I have resigned from our positions, and this has triggered the onboarding process with the Post Office. No date for the transfer has been set yet, but Ernest Wilson (Estate Agents) think it will be probably sometime in January. The woman planning to become the new owner, Harriet, has spent a couple of days with us earlier this month meeting staff, meeting some customers, and getting a feel for the place.”
WACA has expressed that we’d like to meet with Harriet when the time is right – it could be that we can offer some informal support as she sets up her new business. Communication channels remain open, and things look positive for the future of this well-loved business.
Our aim was always to ensure that all elements of the current business remain open for the community and, whilst we were very pleased to be getting involved, we always felt that it didn’t have to be WACA that made this happen – we are all volunteers after all! It’s great to see the prospect of a new entrepreneur taking over, following in the steps of Bob and Yvonne, and then Alex and Sarah and we’ll be very happy to support her in her new venture wherever we can.