Broughton Post Office and Community Shop

Aim: To set up and run a post office, community shop and tourist information service.

With Broughton's Post Office and Shop closing in June 2025, our community was going to be left without a post office. Since Post Office Ltd. had no plans to provide a mobile or outreach service, the only way to keep post office services going in Broughton-in-Furness would be for a community group to run its own local branch.  

What has been achieved so far? Having successfully headed up a campaign 10 years ago to keep Broughton Post Office open, Broughton resident Annette Carmichael took on an even bigger challenge - to set up a community-run post office and shop! With the support of others, the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) was identified as suitable premises and a not-for-profit community group Broughton Community Services CIC set up and registered. 

To be eligible to apply to run a post office branch, Post Office Ltd. stipulated that our CIC had to have a Postmaster, at least two post office personnel, funds for the PO fit-out and a retail outlet. So over May-June 2025, two part-time employees (one an experienced Postmaster) were found, some initial start-up support secured and a business plan for the community shop drawn up.

Our plan is to run a post office counter service in the TIC premises on Broughton's Square alongside a community shop and tourist information service. The post office would operate 3½ days a week while the shop would be open the same hours + an additional afternoon and morning.  Employed staff would provide the post office counter service, handle retail sales and give tourist information. Outside PO hours, volunteers would run the shop and supply a tourist information service. The community shop would be stocked to suit both locals and visitors. 

How to get there: £3,000 would help achieve our aim of a community-run post office and shop. Estimated commission from post office transactions together with a rural branch fee would pay for 22 staff hours per week. Once established, profits from retail sales should cover other costs such as rent, insurance, payroll fees, utilities and stock purchases. But it would be difficult for the CIC to kick off this enterprise without having sufficient funds in hand for preliminary running costs and stock.

If you can help us reach this target, then the CIC plans to open Broughton's community post office and shop towards the end of October 2025.    

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 2nd September 2025 at 7:38pm