Post Office Limited has announced that the post office branch within the Tesco Express store at Bradley Pavilions, Pear Tree Road is to be modernised into what it calls a ‘main style’ branch.
To allow work to be carried out, the branch will close on Wednesday 7th September at 5.30pm and reopen on Monday 26th September at 1pm. Any unforeseen schedule changes requiring these dates to change will be displayed on posters at the branch.
The upgraded branch will have two serving positions, one screened and one open plan – with the latter being low-level and incorporating a hearing loop.
The current range of products and services will remain available, with the addition of car tax and a wider selection of on-demand travel money.
Opening hours will be extended to 8am to 8pm seven days a week (currently 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm on Saturday and closed on Sunday).
During the period of closure, customers are advised that Post Office facilities are provided at the following nearby branches:
- Little Stoke Post Office, 8 Kingsway, Little Stoke BS34 6JL
- Patchway Post Office, Spar Store, 126 Rodway Road, Patchway BS34 5PF
The modernisation of Bradley Stoke’s only post office comes three months after a similar upgrade was made to the Ratcliffe Drive post office in Stoke Gifford.
Journal editor Stephen Horton comments
The provision of extra services and the longer opening hours are sure to be welcomed by residents, but the flip-side is that the investment probably makes it even less likely that a post office branch will be opened at the Willow Brook Centre. Having a post office in our town centre was the top choice in an online reader poll conducted by the Journal in 2013 and is an aspiration of the town council, but Post Office Limited has consistently refused to consider it because of the effect it would have on the viability of existing post office branches in neighbouring areas.
This article originally appeared in the August 2016 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
Note: The originally announced closure period (as printed in August’s BSJ magazine) was 24th August to 5th September, but the commencement date was subsequently amended to 24th October (this date being quoted in September’s BSJ magazine). A further amendment in early September saw the commencement date change again to 7th September.
UPDATE (7th September 2016): The Tesco Express store at Bradley Pavilions will itself also close for refurbishment on Tuesday 14th (sic) September, reopening at 8am on Monday 26th September, according to a poster displayed at the store.
Unfortunately the dire car parking at Bradley Pavilions will ensure that the post office will continue to be underused. The entrance is too narrow particularly when delivery lorries block the entrance, and the layout of the spaces themselves make driving in and out challenging. It is very shortsighted of the post office to desist moving into Willow Brook.
The notice at Tesco Express has now been amended to show the temporary store closure starting on WEDNESDAY 14th September.