There was double ribbon cutting to mark Southwell Road Post Office opening inside a brand-new One Stop store with owners Sidhraj and Kusum Odedra.
The couple undertook a complete refurbishment of the convenience store at 134 Southwell Road Road, West Mansfield, NG18 4HB to make it into a modern One Stop franchise store and to accommodate the Post Office.
Wife, Kusum did the ceremonial ribbon cutting to mark their big investment to fully modernise the store, which they have run for six years.
Southwell Road Post Office needed to relocate as postmistress, Janet Langdon, wanted to retire and Sidhraj and Kusum successfully applied to take it on.
The former, popular postmistress had run the branch at nearby 97 Southwell Road West for 24 years. Janet was invited as a special guest to “cut the ribbon” to mark the official opening of the branch at a community celebration. This has maintained Post Office services to the community.
Post Office Area Manager, Jane Layton and Post Office Area Change Manager, David Woodhead, were also in attendance with customers, relatives and staff. The couple’s daughter Toral and niece, Urvashi Bhandari, work there as well as loyal staff who have been with them for many years, and staff recruited from the previous Post Office.
The couple’s dog Spooks, who is a trained protection and search dog also, attended the official opening. Sidhraj and Spooks take part in obedience competitions in the UK and Europe and Spooks is a familiar face in the store, usually behind the counter, or on a lead at Sidhraj’s side where customers admire the very well-behaved German Shepherd dog, but not pet him.
The opening hours for Southwell Road Post Office are: Monday to Friday: 8.15am – 6pm; Saturday: 9am – 1pm. Whilst the One Stop shop is open Monday to Saturday: 7am – 9pm Sunday: 8am - 9pm.
Postmaster Sidhraj Odedra, said: “We wanted to have a community celebration to mark our new-look store that we are very proud of and we have had great feedback from customers.
“We wanted to involve former postmistress, Janet Langdown, in the event as she is so well-known and respected in the community. We are really pleased to have taken on Southwell Road Post Office, which allowed Janet to retire. We know the community is delighted to have kept its branch as it offers so many vital services including banking and parcels.”
There are two screened Post Office serving positions plus a Post Office counter alongside the retail counter.
The same products and services are available at the relocated branch including DPD and EVRI buy in branch, drop offs and collections as well as the traditional Royal Mail and Parcelforce services.
Crucially it is somewhere that people can do their personal and business banking and with longer opening hours than banks. Foreign currencies, Post Office Travel Money Card and insurance are also available.
Other services include vehicle tax, bill payments, ID verification services and Western Union international money transfer services.
There is a dedicated car park with a disabled parking bay. Roadside parking, at the front and rear of the shop, can also be used by customers and there are no restrictions imposed.
The shop has wide, automatic doors and level access at the entrance.
Post Office Area Change Manager, David Woodhead, said: “We know how important a Post Office is to a community and we are delighted that Southwell Road Post Office has moved to a new location with a new postmaster to maintain service to the community after the well-earned retirement of Janet Langdon. The new-look One Stop store looks fantastic and there has been great feedback about the Post Office within. It has generated a real buzz of excitement for the community.”