A NEW Post Office is set to open in a Gwent town next month after a council stepped in to “correct a market failure”. 

Caldicot was left without a Post Office when the former McColl’s newsagent closed in January 2023. 

As a result Monmouthshire County Council began negotiations with Monmouthshire Housing Association to ensure it would reserve a unit at Holman House a property it owns in the town. A search was then started to find a business willing to run the Post Office. 

Councillor Paul Griffiths, Monmouthshire council’s cabinet member responsible for the economy, said the council had used a Welsh Government grant to refurbish the former Country Flowers shop at Holman House. 

The new Post Office is expected to open on Monday, October 14, said Cllr Griffiths who was asked for an update by Caldicot Cross councillor Jackie Strong. 

The Labour cabinet member said: “It’s an excellent example of how the council can work with a local community to correct what many might regard as a market failure and ensure a service continues in the public interest.” 

Cllr Strong praised the council’s economic development officers and said: “I’m sure Caldicot councillors will be really relieved we now finally have a replacement Post Office in our ‘village’.”