Westport and Ballyhaunis post office buildings go on the market

WESTPORT and Ballyhaunis post office buildings are among 12 buildings owned by An Post which have been put up for sale.

The State Postal Service have put 12 of their properties located across the country up for sale with the post office buildings in Westport and Ballyhaunis expected to yield up to €500,000. They are being sold by private treaty via estate agents Cushman & Wakefield who have an office based in Galway city.

The Westport post office building located on the North Mall was built in 1899 and comprises a detached three -bay two-storey post office with a single storey element to the rear. A price tag of €400,000 has been placed on the building which also falls under An Architectural Conservation Area within the local Development Plan.

The Ballyhaunis building is situated on Bridge Street at its junction with Clare Street and beside the Dalgan River in the centre of the town. The property comprises an end of terrace two-storey building with a small flat roofed extension to the rear of the building and the asking price for this building is €100,000.

While the Ballyhaunis building has been vacant for a number of years, the ground floor of the Westport building is a working post office with a current rent of €13,223 per annum. As part of the sale of the building, the tenant will not be affected and the post office will remain in place.

According to An Post the sale 'will ensure continuity of trade in these locations while at the same time providing a significant development opportunity in each town'. They added that as mail delivery offices typically have moved to new, purpose-built premises elsewhere the public post offices occupy a relatively small portion of the overall sites.

Seán Coyne of Cushman & Wakefield said: “This is an opportunity to purchase iconic, and in some cases, historic buildings with huge potential in strong regional town locations.

“A key feature of the sale is that the properties will be sold with the post office remaining in place. This adds the benefit of an income from the ground floor post offices which are operated by local post-masters.”