Ribbon-cutting ceremony performed by Rt Hon Mark Francois MP
Modern retail environment
Now open on Saturday afternoon
Car tax service will be added
Wide range of Post Office® services available
Ashingdon Post Office, which has undergone a major refurbishment, had an official opening last weekend, Saturday 19 October.
To celebrate the launch of the new style open-plan branch, Subpostmistress Dipa Shah and her husband Dilip Shah, were joined by Rt Hon Mark Francois, MPfor Rayleigh and Wickford, who cut the ribbon at Ashingdon Post Office, 509 Ashingdon Road, Rochford, SS4 3HE.
Mr Francois said: “I am delighted to be opening this newly refurbished post office, the transformation looks great. Post Offices play a vital role in community life and I am sure these improvements will be welcomed by my constituents. I am really pleased that The Post Office and Mr and Mrs Shah have made this investment.”
Ashingdon Post Office has three serving positions – two modern screened positions and a Post Office serving point – this is a new concept for delivering Post Office products and services available alongside retail transactions during shop opening hours.
The branch is now open Monday to Saturday: 09.00 - 17.30 – an extra five hours on Saturday afternoon.
Subpostmistress Mrs Shah, said: “The branch has been completely refurbished and the layout has changed, so it now looks much better and larger than before as we have made much better use of space. We have spent a lot of money, along with the Post Office, to transform the shop and Post Office and we are really pleased with the results.
“We are now open on Saturday afternoon, which is more convenient. Our customers are delighted that we now offer the car tax renewal service. We also have an open-plan combi till at the counter where customers can do their Post Office and retail transactions in one place.”
The refurbishment of Ashingdon Post Office is part of a major modernisation programme across the Post Office network designed to make it easier for customers to do business, through longer opening hours and modern open plan environments.
Subpostmistress Mrs Shah will host the opening celebration with Gary Herbert, Post Office Senior Stakeholder Manager.
Mr Herbert said: “We understand how important having a Post Office is to residents in this area of Rochford and we are confident that this new modern Post Office service will meet the needs of the local community and secure services for the future. The modernisation is part of a major investment programme to convert the Post Office network to new-style branches. This investment, the largest in the history of the Post Office, makes a commitment to no more branch closure programmes.”
The Post Office, now independent of Royal Mail, is the largest retail network in the UK, with over 11,500 branches. It is also one of the fastest growing financial services companies and is developing its online and telephony services.