Post office boss tells of crusade for West Bromwich branch
The boss of a post office said he has fought 'tooth and nail' to get a new branch opened in a £200 million shopping centre to secure services.
Under proposals it is planned to move West Bromwich's branch from its current home in High Street to New Square.
The move would also see the opening hours of the shop extended.
A six-week consultation on the new proposals has now been launched.
Postmaster Sukhdev Singh, who has worked for the Post Office for 11 years, said: "Hopefully we will be taking on four to five new people.
"We have fought tooth and nail for this new site and I think West Bromwich deserves that.
"We are hoping we will have more footfall. It will be state of the art and a lot more inviting."
If proposals go ahead, the new branch would open slightly earlier on Monday mornings and remain open on Saturday afternoons.
New opening hours would be Monday from 8.30am to 5.30pm and Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 5.30pm – making an extra five and a half hours a week.
In June last year the branch, which is close to the large Morrisons supermarket, unexpectedly shut down, forcing customers who use it to collect pensions, buy tax discs and foreign currency to go elsewhere.
Post Office spokesman Richard Hall said for the past four years there have been a succession of 'service issues' at the High Street site.
He added: "This is a real opportunity to get a permanent solution and secure services in the long term for our customers in West Bromwich."
