Kirk Michael Post Office could close as postmistress retires

There are nine rural post offices across the Isle of Man

A post office in Kirk Michael could close if someone can not be hired to run it, the local authority has said.

The postmistress is retiring and Michael District Commissioners are asking for the role to be advertised.

Chair of the board, Carole Lillywhite, believes it is "part of keeping the heart of the community alive".

Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) said it was in discussions with the government about what services were needed and was looking for "expressions of interests".

Ms Lillywhite told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said if the post office was lost residents could face a "four-hour return journey by bus" to get to another one.

IOMPO Chief Executive Simon Kneen said the board was trying to understand if there was "interest in someone taking on the service from the new year".

Petition support

He said once the government had clarified what the needs were in Kirk Michael they would try to speed up any transition to "limit the risk of a break in service."

The local authority was asked to consider running the post office but they said it was not an option.

"Our remit is to manage the local services, paid for by resident rates, not to subsidise a local business," it said on social media.

At a recent meeting commissioners voted to hold another public meeting with a representative from IOMPO, but no date has been set.

They also agreed to support residents who want to start a petition to keep their local post office.