Post office to open in £200m West Bromwich New Square shopping centre

Bosses want to move the branch from its current home in High Street, West Bromwich to New Square and extend its opening hours.

In June last year the branch, which is close to the large Morrisons supermarket, unexpectedly shut down, forcing customers who use it to collect pensions, buy tax discs and foreign currency to go elsewhere.

But now, chiefs want to secure its future and hope to open a new branch in the town's new shopping and leisure development.

The investment comes after plans were unveiled earlier this year for 70 Crown Post Offices across the country to closed and be moved into shops instead. Willenhall, Kidderminster and Cannock were among them.

A six-week consultation on the new proposals have now been launched.

If proposals go ahead, the new branch would open slightly earlier on Monday mornings and remain open on Saturday afternoons.

New opening hours would be Monday from 8.30am to 5.30pm and Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 5.30pm – giving customers an extra five and a half hours a week.

Post Office regional network manager, Simon Drinkwater, said: "We understand how important having a Post Office is to residents in the area and we are confident that the proposed new modern branch would meet the needs of the local community and secure services for the future."

A number of other post offices in the region have also undergone a similar revamp.

These include the Compton Post Office on Bridgnorth Road, Darlington Street post office in Wolverhampton city centre and the Dog Kennel Lane Post Office in Oldbury.

Meanwhile, the Post Office also announced it would be revamping its branch in Castle Road West, Warley.

And earlier this month it was also announced that the Wolverhampton city centre Post Office on Lichfield Street will close – to be moved into the Nisa Local Store on the opposite side of the road.