Zöe Franklin MP for Guildford “cut the ribbon” (5/6) at the official opening of Merrow Post Office, which has restored Post Office services to the area including banking.
The branch has opened under new management at the same location as before – 223 Epsom Road, Guildford, GU1 2RE. The new Postmaster is Kiranjeet Singh, who works there full-time with support from local staff.
Merrow Post Office had been inside the McColl’s store which closed in January 2023. It is a family-owned business supported by Kiranjeet’s son, Simarjeet, and brother, Jagmon.
They took on the premises and undertook a full refurbishment with brand-new shop front, new shelving, lighting and flooring. This well-stocked convenience store opened in June 2023. It includes fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen and chilled goods, drinks and groceries.
Originally it had a lighter format Post Office drop and collect branch offering pre-paid mail services only, which opened in November 2023. Now additional Post Office services have been added to meet the needs of the community, especially banking. A Post Office local branch, offering greater services including every day banking has now opened in Merrow.
Zöe Franklin MP said: “My constituents are very happy that Merrow has a Post Office again where they can do their banking, buy mail services as well as home shopping returns, pay bills and utility top ups, plus other services.
“I want to sincerely thank Kiranjeet Singh for the investment that he and his family have made into this modern convenience store and Post Office. It really is at the heart of this community and Kiranjeet is clearly community-minded and is quickly building up rapport with customers. There’s a really good atmosphere and it has created job opportunities for local people too.”
Residents and businesses can now do their everyday banking here on behalf of cash and cheque deposits on behalf of all the major high street banks. People can also make free cash withdrawals at the Post Office counter.
In addition, customers can buy mail services including Parcelforce, pay bills and do top ups, including Post Office Travel Moneycard services.
Kiranjeet has been involved with retail for more than 20 years with Poundland stores, but Merrow is his first convenience store and Post Office and he is really enjoying it.
Merrow Postmaster, Kiranjeet Singh, said: “We took on the former McColl’s shop, but it is unrecognisable now as we made so many improvements. We opened the Post Office Drop & Collect branch, but we wanted a Post Office local branch with extra service including banking as that’s what our customers really wanted in addition to mail services.
“We have lots of elderly people in the area who like that they can walk here. There’s also lots of free parking, so it’s very easy people for people to pop in with their parcels or to collect parcels and to do their banking. This saves people a journey into the town centre with paid parking and steep streets. My customers are very happy. Word is spreading as good customer care is crucial. We are getting lots of great comments and feedback on social media.”
Post Office Area Change Manager, Graham Brander, said: “We know how important a Post Office is to a community and we are delighted to have re-opened Merrow Post Office with the extra services, including banking. The opening hours make it easy to visit and postmaster Kiranjeet Singh is proving popular with customers.”