Co-op and Post Office to shut in ‘devastating’ blow for UK seaside city | UK | News | EUROtoday

The Co-op will shut a seaside city department after 42 years of buying and selling in June, a transfer its MP described as “devastating”. As a part of the closure, the one Post Office within the space of Minehead, Somerset, will even shut, with the corporate promising to discover a resolution for its clients.

The Co-Op retailer in The Avenue, Minehead, first opened in 1984 on the website of the previous Minehead Bus Station, and its final day will likely be June 13. The Post Office department will shut barely sooner on June 9, at 5.30pm. A press release issued by the Post Office stated: “We are working onerous to revive service to the neighborhood as quickly as doable.”

It added: “I would like to assure you that we are working hard to keep any period of closure to a minimum.”

Customers will be able to shop at the Co-op in nearby Alcombe, which is just over a mile away. But to access the Post Office, they will have to travel across West Somerset to Dunster and Timberscombe.

The statement said: “Co-op stays dedicated to serving the Minehead neighborhood by means of our Alcombe Road retailer, nevertheless we’ve made the troublesome determination to shut our retailer on The Avenue, following the refusal of a planning utility to redevelop the location to incorporate a purpose-built and sustainable new Co-op retailer.

“Our priority is to fully support The Avenue store colleagues, and we would like to thank the community for its continued support for the Co-op in the town.”

Minehead and Tiverton MP Rachel Gilmour previously said the closures were “devastating”, while customers expressed their disappointment on social media. One dubbed it as “so unhappy” and “such a shame”.

The news comes just months after the supermarket chain announced it would expand its retail services in 2026. It said “from Sussex to Stirling”, Co-op would open 18 stores in the first quarter of 2026, including new and re-opened stores following investment.

The shop said its “ongoing dedication to backing British High Streets” was realised with 2026’s first retailer opening at Willowbrook Park, Didcot (Oxfordshire).