The fate of the much-loved Trinity Street Post Office has been decided after months of debate over its future.

The Post Office could be closed down by April, with a new branch opening in a newsagents on King Street.  A sub-master has already been hired to work at the new location.

However, the decision will only be finalised with the approval of the public.  A public consultation has been initiated to gauge the opinions of students and residents.

A Post Office spokesman said: "Our priority is to safeguard Post Office services to the local community in the longer term. The relocation of Trinity Street post office will allow us to maintain access to those services for customers in the local area."

However, the choice of King Street for the new branch has been met with disappointment.

Trinity student Matt Philips told Varsity: "It's really sad and disappointing - it used to be really convenient. It's a shame that an arrangement couldn't be made between the College and the post office, especially as the College are meant to do loads of business there".

Cambridge City Councillor Tim Bick admitted: “Clearly, there will be a number of people who will not be happy with the fact that the post office will move some distance from Trinity Street to King Street.“

He added, "The new one will be closer to St Andrew’s Street, where we already have a main office, and further from Castle Street, which lost its post office recently. So although the hiccup with Trinity Street has been solved, services are now not evenly spread throughout the city.

The iconic post office was originally due to close on December 11th last year due to allegedly exorbitant rental rates charged by site owner Trinity College.

The College charges £20,000 per year rent for the site, which store manager Jack Zalewski claimed was too high.  “They want the money and we don’t have the money.  It’s as simple as that,” he said at the time.

However, a last minute intervention from Cambridge’s wealthiest College saved the post office from immediate closure.  Trinity College’s wider commitment to the support of small businesses in the area promoted the move.

The public consultation on  the post office’s relocation will run until March 30th and submissions can be made by emailing consultation@ postoffice.co.uk or calling the helpline on 08457 22 33 44 or textphone 08457 22 33 55.