Postmaster buys Post Office to secure service for Dulverton

POST Office services in Dulverton have been saved for the foreseeable future after Christopher and Christine Dubery succeeded in purchasing the property at a London auction.
Mr and Mrs Dubery owned a lease until 2013 on the two-storey property in Fore Street, but auctioneers Savills put the freehold up for sale on behalf of Land Securities Trillium Property Partnerships, which was consolidating one of its property portfolios.
Mr Dubery travelled to London to bid for it and succeeded at a price of £215,000 after a competing bidder pulled out.
Mr and Mrs Dubery now have to await the outcome of a Government review of the Post Office service before they can be certain of carrying on in business.
The Government plans to close a further 2,000 sub-Post Offices nationally and will announce the fate of those in the Taunton area in December.
For Mr and Mrs Dubery, it was a relief to acquire the freehold of the Dulverton building, as they also live there.
Mr Dubery, who is currently also temporarily running the sub-Post Office in Milverton, said: “I have been to auctions before for things like antiques, but nothing with property, and being that we live there as well there was extra tension.
“I think the adrenalin was pumping quite a bit. It was quite nerve wracking.”
Mr Dubery said it would now be business as usual, pending the Government review, although he was quite confident Dulverton would not be among those listed for closure.
He said: “We will carry on living there and running the Post Office, and hopefully we will be there until we retire.”
Mr Dubery has also applied recently to Royal Mail to take over the Milverton sub-Post Office on a permanent basis.

• Our photograph shows Dulverton sub-Post Office. Photo submitted.