By Local Democracy Reporting Service - Chris Slater, George Lythgoe, Declan Carey, Greta Simpson.

Stockport town centre Post Office could potentially be closed.

The Post Office recently released a list of 115 sites which would be either closing or transferring to a retail partner, with Stockport's town centre branch on the list.

A spokesperson said that the shake-up was part of a plan to reduce central costs.

Stockport residents like Catherine thought it was a 'huge shame for a town like Stockport not to have a post office', with other locals such as Philip Wall adding it was a 'necessity'.

"But it's a different world we're living in," he added. "A lot of things are changing and it's not normally for the better."

Stockport resident Catherine outside the town centre post office (Image - LDRS)

The changes at Crown Post Office-owned branches are part of a wider shake-up, which would include the loss of hundreds of roles across the business.

According to the company's chairman Nigel Railton, the plans will secure a "new deal for postmasters".

The reshuffle would increase postmaster's share of revenue and give them a greater say in the running of the business, as the company looks to move on from the Horizon IT scandal that saw hundreds of sub postmasters wrongfully convicted.

The plans, which are subject to government funding, would see average branch pay doubled by 2030, with £120 million in additional pay by the end of the first year.

Stockport residents Philip and Patricia Wall (Image - LDRS)

A spokesperson added that the business is 'considering a range of options to reduce our central costs' which included 'considering the future of our remaining Directly Managed Branches, which are loss-making'. They also claimed to be 'in dialogue with the unions' and that 'no announcement' regarding the locations of closures had been made.

The Post Office insisted that it aims to franchise the branches or transfer ownership to other parties, such as its network of retail partners.

Retailers such as WH Smith, Tesco, Morrisons and the Co-Op operate around 2,000 Post Offices across the country. The rest of the network – about 9,000 Post Offices – are operated by independent postmasters.

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