Bishop Auckland’s Spar store in Brooklands has stepped in to secure the Post Office service for the town after the closure of the branch on Cockton Hill Road.
A Post Office counter has been launched today inside the Spar store as a temporary fix to maintain Post Office provision in the town.
The counter will operate services including letter and parcel handling, personal banking deposits and withdrawals, issuing travel money cards, and pre-ordering foreign currency.
It will be open between the hours of 9am until 1pm and 1.30pm until 5pm Monday to Friday.
An existing drop and collect service will run between the Spar store’s opening hours of 7am and 10pm, as will prepaid parcel collection and return.
Meanwhile, plans are being accelerated to explore building a new double Post Office counter within Spar Bishop Auckland with a more expansive Post Office service.
Rob Langford, Post Office network manager at James Hall & Co. Ltd, owner of Spar Bishop Auckland, said: “I am very pleased to announce the opening of a temporary Post Office service within our SPAR Bishop Auckland store in partnership with Post Office Ltd.
“We have moved rapidly to retain this asset for the community and continue to deliver Post Office services for the town. This temporary service is being introduced while we progress the concept of a new two-counter Main Post Office within the store.”
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.
