AN ISLAND town council could take on a Post Office to save the service from being cut off.

The idea is being proposed in Sandown following the announcement the branch on Avenue Road would close on March 10.

It had been housed in the Central Convenience Store but after the store's closure in October, the future of the Post Office provision has been in doubt.

Cllr Debbie Andre is asking Sandown Town Council (STC) to agree to take on the Post Office franchise to keep providing vital services for the town.

She said many Sandown residents rely on Post Office services to stay in touch with friends and family, and since losing all of the high street banks, has become a vital provider of some banking services.

Cllr Andre said she has approached several Sandown businesses but they were unable to take it on, so the best option was for STC to take on the franchise, as other councils across the country have done.

She said: "It's about listening to residents, taking action and using the resources at our disposal in the best possible way for the benefit of those we serve."

The franchise is currently being marketed by the Post Office, until May, and commission rates of between £31,050 and £34,500 a year.

If the motion is approved, the viability of running such a service will be checked and a business case produced.

The town council would have to run all the products and services currently provided at the Post Office, it could not pick some.

The item will be considered at STC's meeting on Monday, February 6, and it would have to be determined where the Post Office could be moved to, how will people get to it and what the proposed trading hours are.

Funding would have to be set aside in the council's budget.

Other community Post Offices on the Island, in Godshill, Brading, Wootton and Totland, are run by Community Action but due to ongoing legal action, the group is unable to take on another.

A Post Office sorting office remains on Beachfield Road in Sandown.