Peterborough Post Office to move to WHSmith

The new branch will continue to provide the same wide range of services.

Roger Gale, General Manager for the Post Office’s Crown branch network said the change would help to ensure the branch is commercially viable into the future and therefore protect Post Office services for customers in Peterborough.

He said: “Our customers’ needs continue to change and we are responding to that, taking the right action to sustain our services for years to come.

“WHSmith already operates around 100 Post Office branches throughout the UK and we have been successfully working with them for nearly ten years.

“They have a proven record of running Post Offices with consistently high levels of customer service.

“We are committed to remaining on high streets and at the heart of communities. We are making changes right across our network to enable us to do so.

“That means adapting to the needs of our customers, who want flexibility and choice about how and when they do business with us, whether that is face to face or on the web.”

The Post Office’s final plans for Peterborough Post Office have been shaped following a six-week public consultation.

Customer access both into and within the store will meet Post Office’s own accessibility standards and all applicable legislation, with shopping aisles widened where necessary. The branch will include low-level counters, PIN pads and hearing loops and customer seating.

The new branch will have four counters and two self-service kiosks, with opening hours from 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and 10.30am to 2.30pm on Sundays – nine and a half hours more a week than currently.

The last day of service at the current branch is September 21. The new branch will open from 9am on September 22. The existing branch staff have the right to transfer their employment to WHSmith in line with TUPE legislation and their options are being discussed with them individually.