Helmsley Post Office is to open this month at its previous location - two years since its closure.

This will restore a permanent, full-time, branch to the town/

The Post Office will return to 25 Bridge Street, Helmsley.

t is due to open on Tuesday, November 26 at 1pm. The branch closed at this location in November 2022 due to operational reasons.

A temporary, part-time service has been operating from Black Swan Hotel, in Helmsley since August 2023. This will close on Thursday, November 21 at 12.30pm.

The re-located permanent service will be operated by a new, experienced, Postmaster. There will be a convenience store alongside.

There will be two open plan serving counters providing the same Post Office services as before.

The opening hours will be Monday to Friday: 9am – 6pm; Saturday: 9am – 1pm.

This will provide an extra 49 hours of Post Office service a week compared to the temporary hours currently being provided at the Black Swan Hotel.

Ian Murphy, Post Office Network Provision Lead, said: “We are delighted to be restoring 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.”

George Jabbour, Helmsley’s North Yorkshire Councillor, said: “After making sure that the licence for the shop that would operate the Post Office in Helmsley was granted, I have been liaising closely with a number of stakeholders, including the Post Office, the new operator, the building owner and their agents, to unblock the remaining obstacles.

“Furthermore, I have contacted the energy supplier to secure the electricity connection to the premises.

“Assuming that the security system is successfully installed over the coming days, postal provision should be available to residents as planned.

“It is rare for a community to get its full-time Post Office back after it had been closed for a long time.

“Having worked continuously over the past twelve months with the new operator, Jagadeesh Kumar, he has reassured me that he will do everything possible to deliver a sustainable service for our attractive and flourishing market town.”