Mayor concerned over delay of new PO facility in Skegness

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Mayor concerned over delay of new Post Office facility in Skegness

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POST office customers could be left weeks without a main branch in Skegness as the reopening of a new host service has been delayed.

Post Office users in the centre of Skegness are having to travel to other branches after a planned move to Beales department store in Lumley Road has been delayed.

The Post Office announced earlier last year that they would be vacating their site in the Co-operative store in the Hildreds Centre but weeks before the deadline, there had been no announcement of the new location.

At the end of November, the Co-operative announced it would be closing its store after Christmas and only then did the Post Office confirm it would be moving to Beales.

The branch was due to open last Wednesday but now it looks like it will not open to customers until later this month.

Rumours have circulated that staff have been made redundant until the branch is reopened but the Post Office would not comment on this.

A Post Office spokesman told the Target the preparation work for the move had been delayed slightly while the landlord awaited a structural engineer's report about a load-bearing wall.

The spokesman said: "We know how important Post Office services are to residents in the town and therefore we are working hard to keep any disruption in services to a minimum, and hope the new branch will be opening later in January.

"Post Office Ltd would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused which are due to circumstances beyond our control.

"When it opens, the new branch will operate as one of our new main style branches, where improved Post Office facilities will be available to customers."

Skegness Mayor Mark Anderson said he believed people in the town and businesses would be inconvenienced by the delay.

He said: "There will be concerns about this in the community, especially those who rely on postal services. I am disappointed to see there is going to be a delay in the services to Skegness which needs a main post office. It is also going to make Burgh Road and Winthorpe more greatly used in the meantime. I think it could be quite chaotic for a time."

The closest post offices for customers are on Burgh Road, Skegness and Seathorne Post Office at Winthorpe.