Post Office CEO visits staff at Milton Keynes Post Office after serious fire & temporary branch opens to serve city

After a serious fire at Milton Keynes Post Office whilst the branch was open, a temporary branch has opened at Milton Keynes City Council’s offices, restoring service to the community.

Post Office Chief Executive, Neil Brocklehurst, visited the branch to show his support to the Post Office employees, after the “suspected arson attack” on the afternoon of 10 June. Staff and customers had to quickly evacuate the building.

After the traumatic ordeal, staff are glad to be back to normality - back at work, doing their normal job of serving the community, albeit, from a different location.

Post Office branch manager, Deborah Penwarne, said: “We’re glad to be back at work, which will help us try to put this bad experience behind us. We’re back doing what we enjoy doing – serving customers.

“The fire was a shocking, unexpected, incident. It was so awful seeing the counters going up in flames. I was so grateful that I was there at the time to support my team. We’ve always been a tight-knit team, and we’ve all supported each other since this awful incident. We’ve been offered counselling.”

Deborah who has worked at Milton Keynes branch for most of her 42 years career with Post Office, said: “When I heard that a temporary branch was to open, it really lifted my mood immensely. My staff were delighted by this news too. It’s amazing that this interim branch has opened so quickly thanks to the council and Post Office pulling out all the stops and it’s in walking distance of the previous branch. The row of counters looks good and whilst the interim branch can’t offer everything that it had before, it does still offer so many services.”

During the official visit Neil Brocklehurst also expressed sincere thanks to Milton Keynes City Council’s Chief Executive, Michael Bracey, for the council finding space at its offices for a temporary branch at 1 Saxon Gate East, Milton Keynes, MK9 3EJ.

Post Office CEO, Neil Brocklehurst, said: “When I’d heard about the serious fire at Milton Keynes Post Office I had been shocked and dismayed. Now that staff are now back working together, I wanted to visit the interim branch to show my support and solidarity for staff, who have been through a traumatic experience. The smiles on their faces show how pleased they are to back working alongside each other again and serving customers that they know so well.

“We know how important a Post Office is to a community, and I want to sincerely thank Milton Keynes City Council for swiftly find us temporary accommodation to restore vital services. Post Office Area Change Manager, Zoe Hall, has worked incredibly hard to get this interim branch open so quickly, and Paul Mead, Head of Post Office Directly Managed Branches, deserves praise for looking after the well-being of staff and his determination to get a temp solution.”

There is a separate entrance for the interim Milton Keynes Post Office, on Silbury Boulevard, immediately to the right of the main entrance to the civic offices (where the NatWest Bank was previously based.) The branch is on the ground floor with level access.

There are five Post Office counters, including at least one that is suitable for people with disabilities, which will be open full-time. Plus, there is a Post Office tablet for online passport and driving licence renewal services and paper-based passport check and send is also available. There are no self-service machines. There is no ATM machine, however, cash can be withdrawn at the Post Office counters.

The majority of Post Office services are available and extra services have been added since opening. Exceptions include Western Union money transfers and verification services for savings products. However, SIA Licence Applications and document certification and verification services are available.

There is no retail space for stationery and packaging. Special philatelic products are unavailable including First day envelope, stamp cards, presentation packs, albums, mini-sheet, prestige book stamps, coin covers and smiler stamps.

Euros and Dollars are available on demand, but other currencies can be pre-ordered online and Post Office Travelcard can be topped up at the interim branch.

The opening hours for the interim Milton Keynes Post Office are the same as before: Monday - Friday: 9am – 6pm; Saturday: 9am – 5.30pm. Pay and display car parking is available outside the council premises.