SEVEN members of staff at Melksham Post Office are facing an uncertain future and the prospect of redundancy as the business is taken over by a franchise.

The Post Office confirmed this week that from January it will be run by ZCO Ltd on a franchise basis and incorporated with a cards, gift and stationery shop, although it will remain in its current home in Church Street.

Extended opening hours will also be introduced, meaning services will be available on Saturday afternoons until 5.30pm, instead of only until 12.30pm.

A Post Office spokesman said: “We are talking to the Melksham branch team about their potential options.

“Employees have the right to transfer their employment in line with TUPE legislation following the decision to franchise their branch, there might also be opportunities for redeployment or a voluntary settlement.

“We are making this change in order to maintain Post Office services in the centre of Melksham.

“There are unprecedented changes on our high streets and the needs of our customers are evolving too.

“The Post Office branch is set to see its opening hours extended to include Saturday afternoons providing more convenient access for our customers.

“Our priority is to provide secure and commercially sustainable services in Melksham, continuing to meet our customers’ needs now and into the future.

“The vast majority of our 11500 Post Office Branches, large and small, are already successfully operated by independent franchisees.”

You can have your say on the move by filling out a response from at postofficeviews.co.uk using the branch code 010548.