Council to seek expressions of interest before considering sale of Ilfracombe Post Office

Longreach Regional Council will test the market, by inviting expressions of interest, before considering any sale of the Ilfracombe Post Office business.

Council is examining the future of the post office business alongside the ongoing preparation of its 2022-23 Budget. Council says there’s a possibility the business could be made more sucessful if a commercial operator took over. 

Acting CEO Scott Mason said a commercial operator could expand the business and offer a better service to the Ilfracombe community.

“Local Government is bound by competitive neutrality, making it hard for us to expand the business into other services” he explained. “But we think there’s a commercial need in Ilfracombe which could be met by someone coming in and purchasing the business.”

Council was considering starting a tender process to sell the business, including the building and land, however at the Council meeting on Thursday it agreed to test the market by inviting expressions of interest first. 

Mayor Tony Rayner said it was important for Council to understand the nature of any proposed development or investment by the private-sector, and its impacts on the community, prior to making any further decision.

“We think there’s an opportunity for a better outcome for the Ilfracombe community, but it’s important to test that before we make any decision. Most importantly, we want to make sure that the current level of services in the community are maintained and improved by any proposed development.”

He said Council had never considered closing the Post Office.

“At no point have we considered closing any services, shutting anything down, or generally doing anything to disadvantage the community. In fact the opposite is true. What we’ve said today is we want to see the details up front to make sure any proposal will achieve a better outcome for Ilfracombe.
                                                                                                 
“By inviting expressions of interest, we can test the market and consider each proposal against the best interests of the community.”

Mr Mason said Council had received interest in the facility from prospective buyers over a number of years.

“At various times we’ve received informal offers, which we can’t entertain. Under the Local Government Regulation 2012 we can only dispose of assets via a public process. So by inviting expressions of interest, we can complete a lot of due diligence prior to any tender process.”

As a result of today’s decision Council will invite expressions of interest, and form a panel to evaluate the submissions, before making a recommendation to a future meeting. The decision also affirmed Council’s desire to maintain the current level of Council and Postal services, and update the Ilfracombe community prior to any further decision being made.