The West Sussex County Times reports:

A Post Office spokesman said: “We know how important having a post office is to residents in the village and we want to keep a post office in Upper Beeding. We are working with sub-postmasters to help them to develop the retail side of the businesses at their current or a new location, or for the current sub-postmaster to give up their Post Office and to receive compensation if the branch relocates to a suitable new operator at new premises.”

On Thursday the Post Office announced the launch of its £20 million ‘Community Branch Fund’ to help secure the long-term future of branches in remote villages that may be the last shop in the community. But Upper Beeding post Office will see none of this money as it is classified as a ‘local’ branch.