THE Post Office has confirmed it has not yet secured a retailer to take over the Basingstoke town centre branch, meaning it is still at risk of closing in 2025.

As previously reported, the Post Office told the Gazette that the operator of the branch in The Malls has resigned after WHSmith announced it will close its store, where the branch is based, on February 1, 2025.

The Post Office said in October that the vacancy for the Basingstoke Post Office had been advertised and there were “several interested retailers”.

READ MORE: WHSmith branch with Post Office closing in Basingstoke

However, more than a month later it has no updates regarding a possible replacement for the branch.

“There is no further update at this stage I’m afraid with regards to a replacement for this branch. Hopefully in the new year there will be more information to share,” a spokesperson for the Post Office said.

A spokesperson for WHSmith previously confirmed that The Malls branch will close in February because “it is no longer sustainable to continue to trade from this location”.

The closure will be the end of an era for Basingstoke, with WHSmith being part of the town centre for more than 56 years. The Malls branch opened in 1968, when it relocated from the Top of Town.

The town centre branch of the Post Office moved to the WHSmith store in 2019 despite objections from residents and councillors concerned that the relocation would result in a loss of footfall at the Top of Town.