Much-loved West Boldon post office 'highly commended' at national awards ceremony

A much-loved village post office has been honoured by judges as it narrowly missed out on a third prestigious national award.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

West Boldon Post Office and Village Store was ‘highly commended’ at the Independent Community Retailer of the Year at the Retail Industry Awards 2021, a glittering ceremony held in London and hosted by the Last Leg comedian Alex Brooker.

The judges named a branch of Premier in Kent as the winner. But the West Boldon team is still rightly proud.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The branch won the Independent Retail Post Office of the Year category in 2019, and was also named Newsagent of the Year at the 2020 National Federation of Independent Retailers awards.

Cheers. Katie and Sean Hudson have only just missed out on a third national award for their West Boldon Post Office and Village Store.Cheers. Katie and Sean Hudson have only just missed out on a third national award for their West Boldon Post Office and Village Store.
Cheers. Katie and Sean Hudson have only just missed out on a third national award for their West Boldon Post Office and Village Store.

The Addison Road business, run by couple Katie and Sean Hudson since 2017, is treasured in Boldon, where customers say it does much more for the community than sell stamps and groceries.

It recently organised the successful ‘Totally Locally market to boost small businesses. Another is planned for Christmas, when they will also collect presents for children again to be distributed by a nearby foodbank.

When Katie and Sean took over they introduced a free “ring and bring” delivery service for less able residents. In 2020 they raised money for a defibrillator outside the shop.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Their Macmillan Coffee Morning last year was forced outdoors by Covid. So they made it the longest coffee morning possible, in terms of length, with tables strung between West and East Boldon raising £3,000.

West Boldon Post Office sells anything you could reasonably ask of a quaint village store.West Boldon Post Office sells anything you could reasonably ask of a quaint village store.
West Boldon Post Office sells anything you could reasonably ask of a quaint village store.

They have also set up a box for foodbank donations, festooned the Boldons with poppies for Remembrance Day and been at the centre of celebrations on the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

They also sold sanitiser at no profit during the pandemic, sold face masks made by volunteers with the profit going to the community laundry and more.

It’s easy to see why the judges were impressed. Even more remarkable is that the shop is so small, occupying just 33 square metres.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sean said: “We were delighted to have reached the national shortlist in what was a very tough field, given everything that small retailers around the country have been doing and continue to do for their communities.

Sean Hudson is co-owner of the West Boldon Post Office.Sean Hudson is co-owner of the West Boldon Post Office.
Sean Hudson is co-owner of the West Boldon Post Office.

“It would have been nice to win, but at the end of the day we have all the recognition we need from the community we serve.”

Read More
Classic car Clan Crusader welcomed home to Washington as it joins collection at ...

Support our journalism and subscribe to this website to enjoy unlimited access to news, sport, retro, daily puzzles and more online. With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click ‘Subscribe’ in the menu to find out more and sign up.