West Suffolk Council approves application to turn former Ingham Post Office, near Bury St Edmunds, into a home
Planners have decided a former village post office and shop near Bury St Edmunds can become a home.
Christine Knight, of Ingham Stores, submitted a prior approval application to West Suffolk Council for change of use permission to turn Post Office House – which housed Ingham Post Office until its closure in October 2023 – from commercial, business and service use into a residential dwellinghouse.
The change of use application said: “We ran the post office and shop since 2019 but due to the economic crisis we could no longer maintain the service.
“We closed the shop in October and do not wish to change it into another business, but this is also our home which we would very much like to stay.”
Objections to the application listed concerns over the loss of a vital service and said demand for the post office still existed.
A neighbour said: “I have lived in Ingham for 40 years and there has always been a post office for the community. I object to its use being changed as this is a valued amenity.
“Most days I see people stop to use the shop not knowing it is closed, showing there is a demand for it. At a time when banks are closing the post office is a vital service.
“I believe the right person is out there willing to take this on. With an ageing population in the village, it is a vital service I will be very sad to see go.”
Another resident said: “The post office in Ingham has been a service for many years. When the closure was announced, the previous retired owner contacted us in astonishment they had not managed to run it profitably.
“When the service was open we frequently joined a queue to be served, so find it difficult to understand they could not convert this level footfall into a profit.
“I live opposite and regularly see people stopping outside only to find out it’s now closed.
“I object the change of use as the demand for the post office and shop services still exists. The alternative is an approximately four-mile car or bus ride away, which means less mobile community members will struggle.”
Ingham Parish Council, in objecting to the change of use, said: “This has been a shop, we believe, for nearly 100 years. It’s an asset to the village and with the village only growing it would be more needed.
“It would be a shame to lose this site to be residential as it is in the heart of the village and best positioned to be a shop and post office.”
An officer delated report, granting approval, said the concerns of the parish council and residents had been noted, however as it was not a planning application only its compliance with the regulations of class MA (conversion into residential) could be considered. The prior approval was approved.
