THE Post Office is set to formally invite shops in Witney to provide a new town centre home for postal services by the end of the month.

The company announced in February that it planned to close the Market Square branch and move its counter services to another shop in the town centre.

Public notices announcing that franchise opportunities will be available to replace 70 directly-managed Crown post offices, including the one serving Witney, will be issued in the next week.

Post Office managers say they need to take action, including closures of Crown offices, to try to stem losses of £40m a year.

Campaigners fighting the proposal to shut the Market Square post office have now collected more than 2,000 signatures online and in person on a petition saying that the closure would have a “devastating impact” on Witney.

Witney East ward Labour district councillor Duncan Enright, who is leading the campaign against the closure, said: “Every extra signature adds to the pressure on the Post Office to maintain the full set of services in Witney town centre.”

Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron said after the closure proposal was revealed that there “must be no reduction whatsoever” in postal services in the town centre and said that he would seek to ensure this happened.

A Post Office spokesman said: “We will publish details of potential franchise opportunities at the end of this month and will welcome interest from potential retail partners.

“If no suitable partner can be found, the Crown branch will remain in Witney.

“Any new branch would offer access to the same range of products and high customer service levels.

“Any move would take place before April 2015 and would be subject to a six-week public consultation.”

The petition opposing the proposal to close the Market Square post office can be signed online here.