Longer opening hours at relocated post office

The opening hours of Southwater Post Office have doubled after it was reopened on Saturday (April 26) in the new location of Worthing Road.
Official opening of the new relocated Southwater Post Office in the Londis shop in Worthing Road (l-r) -  Amish Shingadia, Subpostmaster Ramesh Shingadia, Nim Shingadia and Alpesh Shingadia - photo by Stuart HowatOfficial opening of the new relocated Southwater Post Office in the Londis shop in Worthing Road (l-r) -  Amish Shingadia, Subpostmaster Ramesh Shingadia, Nim Shingadia and Alpesh Shingadia - photo by Stuart Howat
Official opening of the new relocated Southwater Post Office in the Londis shop in Worthing Road (l-r) - Amish Shingadia, Subpostmaster Ramesh Shingadia, Nim Shingadia and Alpesh Shingadia - photo by Stuart Howat

The post office has moved to the family-run Londis shop as part of national plans to modernise the network and extend opening hours for customers.

The new opening hours - 7am to 10pm weekdays and 8am to 10pm at the weekend - offer customers an extra 58 hours of post office service every week.

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There to officially open the new store were Horsham MP Francis Maude, Southwater’s oldest resident Bob Piper and Jay Shingadia, who helped run the shop for more than 30 years and retired last year.

Mr Maude said: “I welcomed the news that Southwater Post Office – my local branch - was to be move into a bright modern open-plan branch. It looks great.

“I am delighted to be here today to congratulate the Shingadia family on their hard work on the extensive changes at this store and for incorporating Southwater post office. The post office is vital to the community and I’m sure the new improved office, and the longer opening hours, will be warmly welcomed by my constituents.”

The Londis store has been run by the Shingadia family for more than 30 years.

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Nim and Ramesh Shingadia took on the store with family members Hash and Jay Shingadia. Hash left the business 16 years ago to open a store in Berkshire and Nim and Ramesh’s son Alpesh has since joined them.

Ramesh said: “We are a community store, so we were delighted to have the opportunity to take on the Post Office. We asked customers what they wanted their new-look Post Office to look like.

“We have extended the premises and re-designed the store to have space to accommodate the post office and to have wider, more spacious aisles. We have also refurbished the whole store. The Post Office really compliments the store and vice versa. They work well in tandem.

“The extended opening hours are far more convenient for customers as they can visit on the way to or from work or at weekends. All Post Office customers benefit as they can spread out their visits over a much longer time.”

As well as general postal services, the specialised services of Vehicle Licensing, Foreign exchange and Passport checking are also available.