A Mayoral speech and ribbon cutting ceremony declared Aspatria’s Post Office reopen at its new location inside the town’s SPAR store in Queen Street.
Aspatria has been without a Post Office since December last year when it closed at Christmas due to the retirement of the postmaster.
Six months on, customers queued up to get a slice of the action at the new Post Office counter, greeting its return with enthusiasm while also enjoying a slice of SPAR and Post Office cake specially baked for the occasion.
Initially, the Post Office counter will be open Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm and between 9am and 12.30pm on a Saturday. It is closed on a Sunday.
Services offered at the Post Office counter include letter and parcel handling, personal banking (deposits and withdrawals), business banking, bill payments, and DVLA car tax renewal.
The counter also operates a Euro currency service on demand. Travel money cards will be stocked, and US dollars can be pre-ordered through the counter.
Coming soon will be Evri and Amazon return and collect delivery services, alongside expanded opening hours of 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Mayor of Aspatria Cllr Stephanie Maxwell said: “It is so good to have a Post Office back in Aspatria, especially in such a well-established business as SPAR.
“When our Post Office closed about six months ago, we were concerned as to what provision we would get in the town. It is with much appreciation from the Town Council and the townspeople of Aspatria that I declare our new Post Office branch open.”
Laura Barnes was one of the first customers to utilise the new counter. She said: “It is ideal located in the SPAR, and it is great to have a Post Office again in Aspatria. I have had a couple of parcels I have needed to post for around a week, and I have been waiting for the day!
“My sister will also be very happy with the news. She works from home and sends out quite a lot of post through her job. Over the last six months, she has had to travel to the Post Office in Maryport or Wigton which has been a massive inconvenience, so she will be delighted.”
Fiona Drummond, Company Stores Director at James Hall & Co. Ltd, owner of SPAR Aspatria, said: “We have proudly had a SPAR serving the community of Aspatria for 25 years and I am delighted that we have been able to return the Post Office service for the town through our store.
“Our initial offer of services and the counter’s opening hours will soon be improved, and we are working quickly to achieve this. Our friendly and dedicated SPAR store team will be able to keep the community updated on progress and they are looking forward to welcoming existing and new customers into the store.”
Adam Shillcock, Partnerships Account Manager at the Post Office, said: “Aspatria is a rural location and a town with a significant population, so we are very pleased to have the Post Office service reopened again for the benefit of the community.
“It has been another excellent project working alongside the team at James Hall & Co. Ltd to bring the Post Office back into the town. We really welcome the company’s openness to supporting our ambitions by opening Post Office counters through their SPAR stores.”
James Hall & Co. Ltd is a fifth-generation family business which serves a network of independent SPAR retailers and company-owned SPAR stores across Northern England six days a week from its base at Bowland View in Preston.
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