Post Office to serve Lancaster's Freehold community once again

The new counter will be officially opened on Friday January 18 at 1pm by Coun Lizzie Collinge in The Corner Shop at 2 Ullswater Road – more than four years after the Post Office further along the road was closed.

Paul Batchelor, who runs The Corner Shop with partner Helen Jones, said numerous customers have told them how pleased they are to see the return of a Post Office to the community.

“When the Post Office closed, they recommended us to take it on in our shop,” Paul said. “We weren’t keen on the idea at the time but then in 2017 we had a lot of customers and people in the community saying to us how much they missed the Post Office and how difficult they found it getting into town to another one, so we decided to approach them about running it.

“The news has been well received; people are chuffed to bits. Anyone with mobility issues especially has struggled to get into town to the nearest Post Office at Stonewell.

“This will make things easier for a lot of people.”

The shop will close for four days from Monday to Thursday next week, January 7 to 10, while a refit is carried out.

A Post office spokesman said that once the store has been adapted, Post Office services will be accessed at a low-screened, open-plan, modern serving point that’s part of the retail counter.

The branch will offer a wide range of Post Office products and services over longer opening hours, so customers can access their Post Office when it’s convenient.”