A RISCA post office is to be modernised and its opening hours to double, including opening on Sunday, while Cwmbran post office is also being turned into a main-style branch.
Cwmbran post office, in the Mall, is to be transformed in conjunction with WHSmiths as part of plans to modernise the network.
It is due to have a mixture of screened and open-plan counter positions, with work taking place between August 2-8, and opening hours of 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 2pm on Sundays.
The same range of services will still be available from the new branch and it will remain open while the work takes place.
A new-look Ty Sign post office, on Elm Drive in Risca, is set to open in September and is part of an initiative dubbed Post Office Local.
Ty Sign post office’s opening hours will more than double, up to 45 extra hours a week, to include longer weekdays, all day Saturday and new Sunday opening.
Post Office services will be available for 91 hours a week from 8am to 9pm Monday to Saturday, and 8am to 8.30pm on Sundays, including automated banking, bill and budget payment, letters, parcels and international letters.
Area network manager for Wales, Sue Whittall said the changes would help to secure Post Office services in the area in the future.
“We know how important the Post Office service is to the community and we feel sure that our customers old and new will welcome the fresh design, modern open plan format and extended opening hours,” she said.
Post Office Local is being billed as a new style of post office, where business is done from the counter of an established shop during store opening hours.
Part of the largest investment programme in the Post Office’s history, running until 2018, more than 8,000 branches or about two thirds of the Post Office network will convert to new-style branches to an effort to avoid closing them down.
The Ty Sign branch may need to close for up to three days for refurbishment and will reopen in September.
The closest alternative post office is the Exchange Post Office, St Mary Street, Risca. Consultation closes on July 22. Email comments@postoffice.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here