Suffolk’s newest post office has opened in Stradbroke Library.
The new post office opened on Tuesday 14 October.
The opening follows several weeks of work to install the new post office counter and other fittings to accommodate the post office in the library which is based at Stradbroke Court House. Library staff have also had specialist post office training during the closure.
Post Office Ltd approved Suffolk Libraries’ application to run the post office in February and it is believed to be the only post office in the country to be run by a library service.
The Stradbroke Courthouse and Library Trust have been working in partnership with Suffolk Libraries on the project. The new post office provides 150 recognised post office facilities including cash withdrawals, foreign currency and handling parcels. Suffolk Libraries staff will run the post office along with the library in the same space.
Tony Brown, Chair of Suffolk Libraries Board welcomed the new post office:
I’m delighted that one of our libraries is going to be hosting a new community facility which has been missing from Stradbroke for some time. I hope that local people will benefit from this additional service which we are very pleased to be providing and congratulate our staff, Stradbroke Courthouse and Library Trust and everyone who has worked hard to make the new post office a reality.
Suffolk Libraries will be receiving some additional income to provide the service with current Library Manager Maureen John taking on joint responsibility for the post office. If the post office is a success and becomes busy enough, more staff may be taken on in the future.
Stradbroke has been without a post office for around two years and Stradbroke Courthouse and Library Trust also have further plans to develop the building by opening a café and providing studio space for a community radio station, storage for a village archive and new toilets. Local artist Christine Cooper has also created a painting to celebrate the library, post office and café opening which features Ann Kerr and Mike Readman, both strong supporters of the library and courthouse community hub project, who have sadly passed away in the past two years.