PRESTON'S main post office is to be sold off and services moved to a new site off Fishergate, subject to a further planning application being passed.

The grade two listed building in Birley Street is expected to go up for sale in the next few weeks and the new post office in Theatre Street is due to open on Monday, October 7.

But assistant director of planning at Preston City Council, Phil Davies, said a further application is needed as the ground floor will be different to that first agreed.

If the move happens it will be managed by Keybase Ltd in partnership with Post Office Ltd. It has yet to be confirmed if services will be interrupted. The move follows losses in the postal service and pressure on outlets to find more cost effective offices.

Jim King, head of area for Post Office Ltd, said: "This decision has been made to help ensure the future viability of our business. Last year we made a loss of £163 million."

But Preston MP Mark Hendrick, who campaigned to keep the Birley Street office open, said: "The city centre post office is cost effective. It's important to maintain crown offices when the company is losing money."

At a meeting on Monday, September 16, the breach of the new development's planning application is expected to be discussed.

David Robinson, managing partner of Frank Whittle Partnership, which designed Theatre Street, said that opposers to the post office's relocation had requested a new planning application. The Ribblesdale Place-based architects are behind a number of developments in the city including an application for a plush 42-flat residential block in Lawson Street.