Helmsley Post Office will officially reopen this week - two years after its closure.

A community celebration will be held on November 29 at 10.30am when a ribbon will be cut to open the Post Office which will include a Premier convenience store.

Experienced postmaster, Jagadeesh Kandasami, has given a refresh to the shop at 25 Bridge Street, Helmsley, where Helmsley Post Office had been based until its unplanned closure in November 2022

A temporary service has been operating from the town’s Black Swan Hotel since August 2023 to restore a part-time service.

Kevin Hollinrake MP for Thirsk and Malton, said: “It’s fantastic to see Helmsley Post Office back with a permanent site, providing essential full-time services to the community. I’ve worked closely with the Post Office team, councillors and local stakeholders to ensure this vital service was restored. I also want to welcome Jagadeesh Kandasami for his significant investment in both the convenience store and the Post Office, which will greatly benefit Helmsley residents and ensure continuity of service during the temporary arrangement at the Black Swan Hotel.”

Helmsley Post Office opening hours are now Monday to Friday: 9am – 6pm; Saturday: 9am – 1pm, providing 49 hours of Post Office and banking services per week. The Premier convenience store is open daily from 6am to 10pm.

Cllr George Jabbour, North Yorkshire councillor who will cut the ribbon said: “The Helmsley community is delighted to have this full-time branch open in time for the very busy Christmas period. The whole shop looks smart too.

“With the wide variety of Post Office services on offer this branch is much needed all year round.”

New postmaster, Jagadeesh Kandasami, is a very experienced retailer, including a variety of stores and petrol stations and two Post Offices within Premier stores in Bishop Auckland and Sutherland Way in Stamford, which is similar to his new Helmsley store.

Jagadeesh said: “I’m really pleased with my new Helmsley Post Office and Premier store. It is a big investment as we had to carry out lots of work after the shop had been closed for two years. I know that the community has been eagerly awaiting the re-opening as they have been popping by to see how work was progressing and to find out the latest news about the opening.

“We’ve been busy stocking the shop ready for the grand opening and speaking to local businesses to spread the good news. We chose market day for the opening so that as many people as possible would be in Helmsley and could join in the celebration.”

At Helmsley Post Office people can do their personal and business banking, withdraw cash, renew their vehicle tax, send parcels, do home shopping returns, collect parcels, pay bills and as well as get foreign currencies and top up Post Office travel card.

Ian Murphy, Post Office Network Provision Lead, said: “We are delighted to have restored a permanent Post Office to Helmsley as we know how important a Post Office is to a community. We are very grateful for the owner of Black Swan Hotel to providing accommodation for the temporary Helmsley Post Office and for the temporary postmaster maintaining service to the community whilst we worked towards a permanent branch. Now we can provide customers with an extra 49 hours of Post Office service a week.”