THE Post Office is proposing to relocate Well Post Office from Market Place to the Spar store in Tucker Street.

A press release from the Post Office announcing the news continues:

It would be a main-style branch with Post Office services. We would work with the new operator to adapt the current store layout.

There would be a dedicated Post Office area with a mixture of full-screened and open plan positions. There would also be a Post Office counter alongside the retail counter.

The main counters would be open Monday to Saturday: 9am-5.30pm. The Post Office counter alongside the retail counter would be open Monday to Saturday: 7am-11pm; Sunday: 8am-10.30pm – this counter would offer selected Post Office services throughout the convenience store's opening hours.

This would be an extra 63 hour and 30 minutes of Post Office service a week including all-day Sunday and Saturday afternoon. The branch would open significantly earlier and would close much later. These changes would make it far more convenient for customers to visit.

In 2016 we previously consulted on the relocation of this branch to this location, however, we decided not to proceed at that time. Since then we have been working alongside the local representatives to identify a solution that would enable us to secure long-term sustainable access to Post Office services to our customers in central Wells.

The current operators have resigned as they plan to retire. No new operators have been found for the main Post Office at the current location, therefore, the Post Office must relocate to new premises. As no other suitable alternatives have been found, we are now proposing to relocate the Post Office to the Spar convenience store. We are confident that this relocation is the best way of safeguarding Post Office services to the local community.

We have also considered the feedback from the previous consultation and have been actively working in the area to identify a possible solution that would provide an additional, centrally located, Post Office local service to the community. These discussions are at an early stage.

The Post Office is now inviting customers and interested parties to give their comments on the move in a public consultation and we are looking for feedback about accessibility, local community issues and anything that we can do to make life easier for our customers.

The consultation will close on August 16, 2019. Customers can share their views during the consultation online at postofficeviews.co.uk with the branch code 321504.

Submissions can also be made via email to [email protected], by post to Freepost YOUR COMMENTS, or by telephone 03452 66 01 15 or Textphone 03457 22 33 55.

• Picture: The current Post Office in Wells Market Place.