THE Post Office is opening a new local service at a service station.

The facility move from the Front Street in Colliery Crow, near Houghton-le-Spring, to the village’s Northview Service Station, at a Chilton Moor, on a date to be confirmed.

The service will be provided at a post office serving point in the store, where the terminal will sit alongside the retail till.

As with any other branch, robust security procedures will be in place and anyone handling post office transactions, including new staff, will be fully trained on all operational and service issues, including customer privacy.

Post office services will be available, seven days a week, during the store’s opening hours, 6am to midnight from Monday to Sunday.

The Post Office said the opening hours which will increase to 126 hours a week, will ensure that the branch is more convenient, as people will now have more choice of when to visit. The branch will open earlier and close much later every day.

Posters in the present post office will confirm the relocation date.

Suzanne Richardson, Post Office regional manager said: “We are making it easier for customers to get their cash, send and collect their mail and do their banking because we know how important these services are to local residents.

She added: “We are confident that this vibrant new-style Post Office at the heart of the local community will meet customer needs. This modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office.”