Full-time Post Office service returns to Bonnyrigg

The new branch will open in the Dundas Street Premier Store on September 28. (Google Maps)

The previous Polton Street branch closed in September 2018 due to the resignation of the operator and the withdrawal of the premises for Post Office use.

Since then a temporary Mobile Post Office has been operating from the Settlement Project on the town’s High Street, run by the Linlithgow Postmaster, while a permanent solution was sought.

This part-time service will end on Monday, September 25 at 12.45pm with the new branch set to open in the Premier Store on Dundas Street at 1pm on Thursday, September 28.

The opening hours will be Monday to Sunday, 7am – 10pm, providing 105 hours of service per week. A Post Office spokesperson said that customers now have the opportunity over the next three weeks to give their feedback on the plan.

They said: “We are keen to restore a permanent Post Office to the area as soon as possible, so we are going ahead with our plan. The opportunity to give feedback will close on September 21. Customers can share their views during the consultation online at postofficeviews.co.uk with the branch code 683471.”

Submissions can also be made via email to [email protected], by post to Freepost YOUR COMMENTS, by telephone on 03452 660 115 or Textphone 03457 22 33 55.

Brian Turnbull, Post Office Network provision lead, added: “We are pleased to soon be able to restore permanent service to Bonnyrigg on a daily basis. We want to also thank the Postmaster for Linlithgow for operating a Mobile Post Office in Bonnyrigg, which has allowed us to maintain service to this community until we found a permanent solution.”

The news has been welcomed by local MSP Colin Beattie.

He said: “I’m pleased that a full-time post-office branch location has been found for the residents of Bonnyrigg. I know from my constituents how much locals rely on the post office and how important it is that they are located in a central area for all to access – especially for the most vulnerable. I very much welcome this news and I am sure local people do too.”