On Monday 6 th February the Parkway Shopping Centre, Coulby Newham, will welcome back the Post Office, as it begins trading from within its new home in the WH Smith store, which recently opened in the centre before Christmas.
The Post Office closed its doors for the last time in February 2010, following the then sub-postmasters retirement. The closure of what many considered a vital service within the community, provoked a petition to re-open the facility, which was resumed in 2011 by Mr Dipak Patel in the suburban area of Lingfield Ash.
However, following on from the continued development of the centre, the post office is relocating back into the Parkway Shopping Centre, much to the delight of its shoppers.
Dipak Patel, Sub Post-master, said: “With the new ownership of Parkway Centre and the proposed new developments we felt it would be in the best interest of the local community and wider audience that we relocate to the centre.”
“By partnering with the Parkway Centre and WH Smith we feel we can offer a much improved and streamlined service to our existing and new customers, we are transferring our existing Post Office staff to the Parkway thus ensuring our customers will get the same experienced service now and in the future, we are very excited about the opening of the Post Office and look forward to meeting more new customers” added Dipak
Zoe France, Centre Manager, is excited to see the Post Office return, she said: “The Shopping Centre is at the heart of the community and our customers tell us the Post Office closing was a major loss to the centre.
“We are delighted to welcome the service back. As the centre has grown over the last year, it makes sense for it to be situated within the shopping centre, as we are able to cater for all our shoppers needs, under one roof” added Zoe.
Local shopper Lilian Haigh added “When we lost the Post Office from the centre we were all very disappointed, now the Post Office is returning I can’t wait, it’s been a long time but it’s coming back at last!”
On Saturday 4 th February 2017, the Parkway Centre, are holding an event from 11am – 3pm to celebrate the re-opening. They will be offering customers the chance to win a cash prize – each customer who participates will be given a unique number that could win a cash prize of up to £15. Hundreds of cupcakes will also be given away alongside a free prize draw with the winner winning £100 cash on Monday 6 th February 2017.
Since purchasing the centre in 2015, joint owners Ellandi LLP and Bridges Ventures have welcomed fashion retailer Pep & Co. and more recently confirmed Boyes will begin trading in April 2017.
In 2016, the centre revealed extensive plans to increase its existing floor space by an additional 54,000sq ft. The plans, which are likely to create scores of jobs, would see a number of new stores built to the south of the centre, which is currently home to retailers including Tesco, Boots Iceland and Peacocks.