Hamilton is to have a post office restored to the heart of its town centre for the first time in more than two years.
Post Office officials have confirmed that a new office will reopen in March at the same Cadzow Street premises which last housed the service before its closure in January 2023.
The news has been given a warm welcome by community representatives, including Hamilton councillor Gavin Keatt – who organised a 600-signature petition against the closure and says that the post office’s restoration is “brilliant news” for the town and for customers – particularly elderly people who previously made regular use of the service.
Post Office this week issued an official notification of the Hamilton reopening, telling customers: “We are delighted to let you know that services will be restored to Hamilton post office on Thursday, March 20 at 1pm.”
“The service will be operating from the same premises at 23-25 Cadzow Street, by a new operator offering a range of Post Office products and services.
“We know that the local community will join us in welcoming this good news and hope that our customers will continue to use this service. If there are any unforeseen changes to the opening date, posters will be displayed in branch.”
The post office counter will be open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays, located within a new retail convenience store which is set to open from 8am, six days per week, closing at 7pm on weekdays and 5pm on Saturdays.
Hamilton’s town centre post office had previously been based within the McColl’s store on Cadzow Street, but closed when the shop was shut down in January 2023 following a takeover of the retail chain – leaving customers needing to make their way to the nearest alternative branch at Almada Street, or those located in Fairhill, Burnbank, Low Waters or Hillhouse.
The loss of the Cadzow Street branch was described at the time as a “blow to our town centre” by Hamilton South representative Councillor Keatt, with business organisation Hamilton Our Town calling it a “damaging loss for our community and town centre” and contacting the Post Office aiming to relocate and retain the “vital service”.
Councillor Keatt this week met the Hamilton Advertiser outside the prominent Cadzow Street premises – where work is underway ahead of the shop and post office opening with a banner also confirming the March opening date – and told how he is “delighted” to see the long-awaited restoration of the service.
He said: “It’s brilliant that we’ll have this back; the post office were keen to keep a service in the town centre and now we’ll have that once again in just a couple of months.
“Losing the post office had an impact on the town centre and particularly on elderly customers who went in regularly; they had great relationships with the staff who would help them to pay bills rather than using digital platforms, and it wasn’t viable for them to get to Almada Street.
More than 600 people signed his petition in little over a week when the closure was announced in December 2022, with residents calling the post office service “a lifeline for a lot of people – and also my bank”, and “a huge loss to the community, local businesses and the town”.
Councillor Keatt added: “All the former staff were fantastic and I’d be absolutely delighted if some of them returned to the new post office to bring their existing skills; it’s obviously a viable service and a real boost that it’s being reinstated.
“It’s a real boost for the town centre and something really positive – we know shopping habits have changed, and we have the town centre masterplan and the traffic and parking trial on Quarry Street, and now reopening a vacant building and having the post office back for people is a brilliant thing.”
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