THE POST Office in Leamington’s Old Town has reopened following flooding.
The branch based at the back of the now empty former Spar store on Bath Street shut last July after water came through the roof creating an electrical hazard. It briefly reopened but closed again following further flooding.
Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western was among those calling for it to reopen after a busy festive period saw users of the town’s only other branch on Clarendon Street faced with lengthy queues.
But despite the Bath Street branch reopening, there are still calls for it to relocate.
A petition was recently launched for it to move to its former premises on nearby Victoria Terrace – where it was based from 1870 until moving to the Spar store in 2014 – which has gained more than 1,000 have signatures so far.
Despite this county councillor Jonathan Chilvers says it could move to a existing local store.
He told the Observer: “Long term there are two local businesses talking with the Post Office about relocation to a shop that’s open – expected to open in early summer.”
And Mr Western was pleased it had reopened.
He said: “It is good news for residents. However, I remain disappointed by the length of time it has taken for the issues to be resolved – it was simply too long for a community to not have easy access to the Post Office’s vital services. Temporary provision should have been sought.
“This case among others has shown that public services are too important to be left solely to private enterprise. Going forward, I will be making the case in Parliament to bring back public scrutiny over Post Office services in our communities.”
A post office spokeswoman said:
“We are pleased to announce that Leamington Post Office has re-opened after roofing repair work was carried out. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by the temporary closure caused by the leaking roof.
“We also have two interested retailers who have applied to operate Leamington Post Office on a permanent basis. We will soon be considering both applications and we will then announce our proposal.”
