PLANS for a new ‘open all hours’ Post Office in Winnersh will come to fruition next month.
The modern-style branch will be relocated to Winnersh Food and Wine in Reading Road and will enable full Post Office services to be available from 7am to 9pm six days a week.
Sunday opening will mean stamps and other services will be available from 8am until 9pm, meaning that the new branch will be open for an additional 44 hours and 30 minutes every week.
Services will be accessed from two new open-plan tills at the shop counter rather than the traditional screened counters which the post Office says makes it easier for customers to use.
The current Post Office, also on Reading Road, will close at 3pm on Saturday, October 10, with the new branch opening at 1pm on Monday, October 12.
In the interim, the Post Office says customers should use the Woodley branch in Crockhamwell Road. Another branch is in the Lower Earley Asda complex.
The Post Office held a public consultation ahead of the changes, and it said that the majority of the feedback focused on parking and traffic issues in the area.
It added that there is off-road parking for three cars at the front of the new premises with additional roadside parking available nearby, a similar to parking arrangements at the current branch.
Will Russell, regional network manager for the Post Office said: “We understand how important having a Post Office is to residents in Winnersh and we are confident this new modern branch will meet the needs of the local community and secure services for the future.
“The modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office and makes a commitment to no more branch closure programmes.”
CHEQUES will no longer be accepted at Emmbrook Post Office, it has been announced.
As part of plans to turn the office, in Reading Road, into a new-style ‘local’ branch, the decision has been made to no longer accept cheques.
The move has been criticised by some local residents, who claim the decision will cause problems for elderly residents who still use cheques on a day-to-day basis.
A Post Office spokesperson, said: “Emmbrook Post Office is one of our new-style Post Office local branches and our local branches do not accept cheques. The new-style local format is a simpler operating model than a traditional style Post Office.
“It is designed to handle products and services that are automated, meaning that customers can be served quickly and efficiently and transactions processed more quickly. Payment is accepted by card or cash.”
