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Postal services will be restored on the Stocking Farm estate in Leicester following the sudden closure of a Post Office earlier this year. Post Office has confirmed a plan to reopen a counter at a new location after customers were left ‘angry and heartbroken’ in February this year.
The former branch in Marwood Road was based in a convenience store at the community club building but was formed to close because the premises was “no longer available”. Residents at the time told LeicestershireLive they had only found out about the closure through word-of-mouth.
A new Post Office is now set to reopen just a few hundred feet from the old location in the Nisa Local shop in Marwood Road. The Post Office counter is due to open on Tuesday, September 5.
One of the main concerns raised by residents was was not having anywhere for the elderly to withdraw cash for free. Vera Smith, 84, who used to be the chairperson of the local tenant’s association had previously campaigned to keep postal services in the area and said she hopes free cash withdrawals would be one of the available services from the new location.
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She said: “I think we’ve been served very badly on this estate. A lot of people on the estate are old age pensioners and they’re been having to pay to get their pension out – it’s all wrong.”
A Post Office spokesperson said: “You will be able to do everyday banking at this branch – cash deposits, cash withdrawals and cheque deposits. As well as the full range of mail services and bill payments.” The firm said it was “keen to restore this branch to the area as soon as possible” so is therefore going ahead with the plan.
Its opening hours will be from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday. Sunday opening hours will be from 9.30am to 6pm. Customers will be able to share feedback on the upcoming opening until Friday, August 18. they can share their views during the consultation period by visiting postofficeviews.co.uk and using the branch code 315217.
Anne Murphy, Post Office Network Provision Lead, said: “We are delighted to soon be restoring a Post Office to this area as we know how important a Post Office is to a community. The branch’s opening hours will make it convenient for customers to visit.” Submissions for customer views can also be made via email to comments@postoffice.co.uk, by post to Freepost your comments, or by telephone 03452 66 01 15 or Textphone 03457 22 33 55.
