MOVING a Craven post office to new premises would lead to extended opening hours and a more modern environment for customers, Post Office chiefs have claimed.

They are proposing that Bentham's branch should go to a new location at Flowerfields, 5-7 Main Street, from its current location at 28 Main Street - about 120 yards away.

And they have just started a six-week consultation process for townsfolk to have a say on the scheme.

Post Office managers say the move will provide a more modern retail open-plan environment. If it goes ahead, the branch would open over seven days for a weekly total of 49 hours. It would also continue to offer full banking services for personal customers and small businesses, they say.

The proposal, which has the agreement of the current postmaster, is part of what bosses say is a major modernisation programme across the Post Office network.

Post Office regional manager Suzanne Richardson said: “We are making it easier for customers to get their cash, send and collect their mail and do their banking because we know how important these services are to local residents.

“We are confident that this vibrant new-style Post Office at the heart of the local community will meet customer needs.

"This modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office.”

Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith has welcomed the consultation. He said: "It is great to hear that this proposed move has now moved on to a public consultation and I hope that people in the Bentham area will have the opportunity to share their views on this proposal."

Anyone wishing to have a say must do so by August 18, when the consultation period closes.

Submissions can be made during the consultation by Freepost, YOUR COMMENTS, Post Office Ltd.

Email comments can be sent to: comments@postoffice.co.uk; via the Customer Helpline on 03457 22 33 44; or by Textphone on 03457 223355.

Customers can also share their views online through the questionnaire at postofficeviews.co.uk, with the branch code 16141899.

Post Office bosses say the Bentham move is part of a £1.3 billion transformation programme of around 6,000 branches across the country which has been going on since 2012.