Sub-post offices and high street revitalisation: Lessons from the experience of grant assistance to sub-post offices in deprived urban areas of the UK

Abstract

Post offices are essential service providers within deprived urban areas. This paper explores some lessons from the impact of grant assistance to sub-post offices in deprived urban areas of England and Scotland which are relevant to contemporary policy initiatives to revive high streets. Utilising longitudinal data to explore whether government grant assistance has made a difference in enabling the survival and development of assisted sub-post offices, it also considers their role in maintaining and developing shops and services in deprived urban neighbourhoods. The inter-relationship of sub-post offices with their local economies and communities is explored, including external influences such as competition and complementarity and internal influences relating to the evolving role of sub-post offices in the early 21st century. A central theme is the apparent paradox between the UK Government’s desire to maintain sub-post offices as essential service providers and catalysts for other ‘high street’ services within deprived urban areas, whilst opening their core services up to increasing levels of competition.