Press release -
New Post Office alongside extensive retail offering opens to delight of local community in Allanton, North Lanarkshire
- Allanton Post Office a demonstration of Post Office’s commitment to work in partnership with retailers – driving footfall and helping them to grow their business commercially
- Post Office, hosted inside a brand-new convenience store on Scotland’s second busiest A road, officially opened on Friday 4 March by local MP, MSP and residents
- Post Office open six days a week providing local community with access to cash and banking services; as well as bill payment, shopping returns, parcel pick-up and other mails services
- Convenience store sells locally sourced meat products, fresh cakes and ready meals. Also has ice-cream and milk shake counter with on-site café opening shortly
- Allanton Post Office is first, permanent like-for-like replacement for a branch previously operated and closed by CJ Lang with further replacements planned for other CJ Lang closures in coming weeks
Post Office continues to demonstrate its commitment to providing convenient access to its services and to working in partnership with successful retailers with the opening of a new Post Office in Allanton, Shotts, North Lanarkshire.
Officially opened on Friday 4 March by local MP Anum Qaisar, MSP Neil Gray and the local community, Allanton Post Office operates six days a week within a brand-new convenience store selling locally sourced products, a wide range of snacks and a soon to open café.
Postmaster, Omar Nasir, who already operates Motherwell Post Office, has taken on this new branch. Lee and Demi Bannatyne, from Allanton, are running the business and café on a day-to-day basis with their extended family. The Post Office is open six days a week providing the local community with access to cash and banking services; as well as bill payment, shopping returns, parcel pick-up and other mails services. Accessibility for elderly or disabled customers has been improved as the new location has an onsite car park.
Allanton Post Office is the first, permanent, like-for-like replacement for a branch previously operated by CJ Lang who announced last summer their decision to close 31 Post Office counters in their stores. Post Office has secured permanent and temporary services for the majority of these communities, with the remaining areas being served by local Post Offices. The next permanent, like-for like replacement launches in April in Balintore, Ross-shire with further replacements to be announced in the coming weeks.
Martin Roberts, Group Chief Retail Officer at Post Office, said:
“This brand-new Post Office in Allanton demonstrates the many benefits a Post Office provides local residents, businesses and the wider community. Our strategy is to continue to work closely with independent Postmasters, as well as our retail partners, to deliver innovative propositions that drive footfall to their stores and leads to commercial growth for our businesses. The convenience sector is key for us.”
Postmaster, Omar Nasir, said:
“This shop and Post Office are ideally located for residents, businesses and passing trade. We are on the A71 – the second busiest A road in Scotland with lots of passing traffic. We are very fortunate to have plenty of parking, so the Post Office is in a more convenient location than before and people can easily pop in for the Post Office, groceries and a takeaway. We have lots of elderly people in the village and not all have cars, so it is essential to have a Post Office here. People can also do all their banking and we are open longer hours too. We have been busy from the start and each day we are getting busier as people hear what we have to offer.”
Post Office Network in Scotland
There are over 1,300 Post Offices across Scotland with 66% located in rural areas demonstrating Post Office’s commitment to ensuring local communities can conveniently access its products and services. 99% of the population in Scotland, including throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, are within 3 miles of an open Post Office branch and 90% within a mile.
Martin Roberts added:
“The Post Office network in Scotland is resilient across urban and rural areas. We rigorously analyse data on local demand for services across our network to ensure we have the right provision, in the right locations to meet customer needs. Equally, we recognise that our branches are at the heart of local communities across Scotland and that many people, especially older and disabled people, rely on our products and services.”
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About the Post Office
- With over 11,500 branches, Post Office has the biggest retail network in the UK, with more branches than all the banks and building societies combined.
- Post Office is helping anyone who wants cash to get it whichever way is most convenient. Partnership with over 30 banks, building societies and credit unions means that 99% of UK bank customers can access their accounts at their Post Office.
- Cash withdrawals, deposits and balance enquiries can be made securely and conveniently over the counter at any Post Office; and the biggest investment by any organisation or company in the last decade is being made to safeguard 1,400 free-to-use ATMs across the UK.
- Post Office is simplifying its proposition for Postmasters with a focus on itscash and banking; mails and parcels; foreign exchange; andbill paymentsservices.
- Researchhas found that visits to the Post Office help drive another 400 million visitors to other shops, restaurants and local businesses equating to an estimated £1.1 billion in additional revenue for High Street businesses.
- 99.7% of the population live within three miles of a Post Office; and 4,000 branches are open seven days a week.
