Post Office could go back to 1920s

A DEVELOPER hopes the return of a post office branch to Stockton closer to its 1920s appearance will spark more revamped shops on its High Street.

- By GARETH LIGHTFOOT

Northumbria Group Ltd has has applied for planning permission to install a new shop front with an iron gate and a hanging sign at the former Furniture Express building on Stockton High Street.

It says it wants “to return it to its historic proportions and become the catalyst for further refurbishment of the shopfronts in this area of Stockton”

The grade II listed building was recently announced as the new home of the town’s post office branch, which had closed with the Wellington Square WHSmith shop in May.

The new shop will open at 1pm on Wednesday, October 22. The Post Office previously said the new branch would open at the end of this month.

However it has confirmed the new October opening date in the final plans on its website. It says it received 88 responses to a public engagement which “welcomed the return of Post Office services to the area”.