A VILLAGE post office is set to relocate with a pledge for longer opening hours, despite some concerns over the change The Post Office has agreed to relocate Updown Hill Post Office to Hillview News, in Chertsey Road, Windlesham, with the new facility opening on Tuesday, December 22, at 1pm.
Updown Hill will open as a modern open-plan ‘local’ style branch with extended opening hours – as a result it will offer Post Office products and services from an open-plan till at the shop counter instead of from a separate screened counter.
Services will be provided throughout shop opening hours – Monday to Saturday 6am-7.30pm and Sunday from 6am–noon. This will offer an extra 50 hours and 30 minutes a week of Post Office services including Sunday morning and Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
During a public consultation, the Post Office said the majority of feedback was in support of the move.
However, a number of comments were concerned about the busy nature of the shop the service is moving into, availability of space for customers and the level of service that would be provided following the change.
The Post Office has pledged the new branch will meet specifications to ensure sufficient space for the Post Office service to operate alongside the retail offer and the company will be working closely with the new operator on the internal layout of the service.
The Post Office said staff will be fully trained in Post Office transactions and staffing levels will be aligned to meet customer demand while it will discuss issues like queue layout and asking customers to stand back from the counter while they are waiting for service to protect customer privacy.
Will Russell, Post Office regional manager, said: “We understand how important having a Post Office is to residents in the Windlesham area.
“We are confident that this new modern Post Office service will meet the needs of the local community and secure services for the future.
“This modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office and marks a commitment to no more branch closure programmes.”
The current Post Office branch, in Updown Hill, will close with the current Postmaster’s agreement on Monday, December 21, at 5.30pm.
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