Joy as post office returns to Wigan village

The Living Faith Church which will be the temporary home for the reopened post office in Orrell

Orrell has been without a Post Office since its James Road branch closed in September 2018, following the resignation of its postmaster.

But on March 3, a new branch will open at the Living Faith Church, 25 Church Street, around 150 metres from its previous home.

It will be run by the postmaster from Burscough Bridge Post Office and will offer a wide range of Post Office products and services. The church will act as a Temporary Hosted Outreach service while bosses look for a permanent location.

David Hunt, change manager for the Post Office, said: “We are pleased to be able to restore post office service to Orrell whilst we continue to look for a permanent solution.”

Yvonne Fovargue, MP for Makerfield, welcomed the announcement, saying: “After several years of closures to local post offices serving Orrell and Billinge this is a welcome boost for customers who need to be able to access Post Office services.

“It’s good to see that the new postmaster and Living Faith Church have worked together to retain this service for the local community.”

All three Conservative councillors for Orrell were delighted by the announcement, said Coun Michael Winstanley. He said: “As councillors we have campaigned for years for our local residents to have access to Post Office facilities, ever since the Post Office at Orrell Post closed in the early 2000’s.

“It was a blow a couple of years ago when the Post Office that was located at James Road closed. Ever since then I and my fellow councillors Clayton and Evans have been lobbying the

Post Office to find an alternative. I know that this news will be welcomed by many local residents who struggle to access services especially online. It will also mean that residents won’t have to make long trips into Wigan to go to the Post Office.

“This is a good news story and would urge everyone to make full use of the facilities to ensure that this mobile Post Office becomes very much part of the local community.”

The branch will be open on Tuesdays from 9am-noon, and on Thursdays, 9.30am-12.30pm.