Official opening of Milton Keynes Post Office in permanent location after a serious fire

The official opening of major new-look Milton Keynes Post Office alongside a “Stamp” store selling cards, gifts and stationery took place this week.

Emily Darlington, MP for Milton Keynes Central, cut the ribbon to mark the re-opening of Milton Keynes Post Office, back at its original location after a serious fire last June.

The whole premises at Unit N1 802 Midsummer Boulevard has been fully renovated and it now looks even better than before. New owners Universal Office Equipment Ltd (UOE), has introduced a “Stamp” store, alongside Milton Keynes Post Office, with a whole new layout and eye-catching retail introduced.

Emily Darlington, MP, said: “It is with great joy that I’m performing the official opening of this wonderful looking Post Office and Stamp store.

“It’s been a challenging year for the branch, but people have rallied round to maintain vital Post Office services to the city centre. Over 2,400 people signed my petition to keep services active, which just shows how important it is for the people in our city. Now we have a great new retail store alongside the Post Office and longer opening hours too. I want to congratulate UOE for their support during this period of turbulence and significant investment into our city.”

The new opening hours are Monday – Saturday: 9am – 5.30pm and Sunday: noon – 4pm. This is 55 hours of service per week, now with daily opening for the convenience of customers.

Elliot Jacobs, who leads UOE, said: “We’re delighted to be back in the permanent, bigger location, which gave us space to introduce our new Stamp-branded store. There’s a real modern feel to the premises and the introduction of exciting retail of cards, gifts and stationery, gives people more reasons to visit.”

It has been an eventful 12 months since the blaze, which occurred whilst the post office was busy serving people.

Milton Keynes City Council quickly provided temporary space in its council offices to restore service in July, before an interim location opened in the shopping centre before busy Christmas period.

Council Leader Cllr Jane Carr, attended the official opening to join in the celebrations to mark Milton Keynes being back in its permanent location, said: “We are glad that we were able to play our part in accommodating a temporary location. It’s great news to have Milton Keynes back at its original, permanent, premises. So many improvements have also been carried out to the premises with the Stamp store being added, making much better use of space.”

In November, UOE, led by Elliot Jacobs, took over the franchise for Milton Keynes Post Office, at the temporary location. Now the branch is back at its bigger premises, with space for the Stamp store to be added.

This is the third Stamp store in the UK and it is the new name for UOE stores. Whilst it still sells office equipment there is now a focus on growing the gift side of the business.

The Stamp store name celebrates the very close association UOE has with Post Office. UOE took over 32 branches last year which had been directly-run by Post Office in addition to nine existing post office branches. So, the new uniforms reflect the close association as they complement the colour schemes of modern-looking post offices in grey, navy and black. They replace UOE’s bright yellow uniforms.

The rebrand also reflects a different marketing approach with the Post Office and Stamp stores being on the high street “for life’s moments”, reflects Elliot Jacobs, whether that be getting a passport and travel money to go on holiday, ID verification, or for special occasions including birthdays and anniversaries. The store is a place where people can buy gifts and cards, along with pretty and functional packaging, to send to loved ones with a variety of couriers, including DPD as well as Royal Mail and Parcelforce.

As well as the one-off occasions, the Post Office is also there for the everyday needs including cash and cheque deposits, cash withdrawals, balances and bill payments.