A DATE has been announced for the reopening of Corringham's Post Office, which is to be refurbished in the interim.

The service at St John's Way closed in February this year following the retirement of long-serving postmaster Pravin 'Bob' Patel. The whole premises then had to be completely stripped out as required by the terms of the lease.

A statement from the Post Office today (Thursday, 16 November) says: "The newly-appointed Postmaster, therefore, is starting from scratch to add a Post Office and retail.

"The highly-experienced Postmaster already has busy branches in London. A manager will be appointed to operate the precinct Post Office which is due to open on Friday, 22 December at 1pm

"There will be three Post Office counters – two full screen and one open plan alongside the retail counter. Similar Post Office products and services will be available as before.

"There will also be a convenience store with cards and stationery.

"The new opening hours will be: Monday to Saturday: 9am – 6.30pm.

"This is 57 hours of Post Office service a week for the convenience of customers. This is later closing than previously offered."

Mohammed Islam, Post Office Network Provision Lead, added: "We are delighted that a new Postmaster will soon restore Post Office services to the Precinct as we know how important a Post Office is to a community.

"I know that the local community will join me in welcoming this good news and hope that our customers will continue to use this service."