THE new location for Christchurch's post office has been revealed - and it will be in the heart of the town centre.

The new facility, which will include a brand new card and stationery shop, will open in Saxon Square on Tuesday, January 30 at 1pm.

Christchurch has been without a post office since the former branch closed, originally on a temporary basis, in April 2016.

The Post Office Ltd said this closure was due to circumstances "beyond our control".

However, a new postmaster has now been appointed and the empty premises is undergoing a full refurbishment to incorporate a cards, stationery, gifts shop and Christchurch Post Office.

The new franchise will be open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5.30pm, with three post office counters - one full-screened and two open-plan.

Sarah Cottrell, Post Office, network operations area manager, said: “We are delighted to be able to restore post office services to the centre of Christchurch.

"This will make it easier for customers to get their cash, send and collect their mail and do their banking because we know how important these services are to local residents.

"We are confident that this vibrant new-style post office at the heart of the local community will meet customer needs. This modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the post office and will secure services for the future.”

Residents have been forced to travel to Purewell Cross on Somerford Road or One Stop on Barrack Road for a post office service.

Town centre councillor Peter Hall said: "I'm delighted to hear this news and I'm sure our residents will be very pleased.

"They have had to suffer without one for almost two years. It seemed as though they had been neglected during this period, especially for the elderly who use the post office to get their pension.

"Hopefully the new branch will provide a post office we can rely on.

"Our town has a large town centre population and this has taken far too long to sort out - for that I'm sorry."

In order to restore services to residents as quickly as possible, the Post Office Ltd said the new branch will open during a public consultation period on Tuesday 30 January 2018.

The consultation on the services offered by the new branch will close on Wednesday, February 21.

Submissions can be made during the consultation by Freepost YOUR COMMENTS to Post Office Ltd, via email to comments@postoffice.co.uk, via the customer helpline on 03457 22 33 44 or text phone 03457 22 33 55.