A BRAND new post office will be opening in Tilford this month thanks to a successful campaign by locals.

The new branch, located in Tilford Village Shop, will be open seven days a week and will provide a range of services, including cash withdrawals and balance enquiries for customers of all major UK banks.

Krishanthan Senthivel, shop manager, said: “At the moment, people are going to Farnham or Elstead for a post office and are finding it difficult to organise transportation and parking. It will be much more convenient to have it locally.”

In 2016, a petition calling for a new post office received 850 signatures from residents and visitors, and Tilford Parish Council wrote to the Post Office headquarters in London in support of the application.

Rebecca Morris, Post Office network operations manager, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for customers to pay their bills, withdraw cash from their bank accounts, and send and collect their mail at a time and place that suits them best.

“We know how important our services are to customers, and are confident that this brand new post office alongside the other branches in the area at Elstead, Lower Bourne and Frensham, will ensure that people in Tilford have easy access to our services.”

Tilford’s last post office, which was also located in the village shop, was closed down due to a lack of viability and the presence of another branch under private management in nearby Rushmoor.

The new opening is part of a modernisation and investment programme taking place across the Post Office network.

In August, Churt witnessed the opening of its first post office in a decade after the previous store had been closed in the wake of a knifepoint robbery in 2007.

Opening hours for the new Tilford post office will be Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm and Sunday 8am to 6pm.