KEMPSEY is to get a new post office after being without one for years.

The battle to get the stamp of approval for a post office in the village has been a long saga which risked becoming a dead letter since the one in Post Office Lane closed in November, 2008.

But on June 5 this year the long wait comes to an end with a new post office opening at McColls in Church Street.

There have been several proposed solutions in the past, including having a post office at the community centre on the Main Road.

European and Kempsey Parish Council funding was even discussed as villagers battled to get back the valued service. At one point there was even talk of having a £17,000 post office in steel cabin in the parish hall car park and even in a broom cupboard.

Malvern Hills district councillor David Harrison said: "This will be wonderful for the local people. Kempsey is one of the largest villages in the country and now it will have its own post office back. The opening hours on offer are also wonderful."

A Post Office spokesperson said: “Post Office Ltd is pleased to announce the planned re-opening of Kempsey Post Office as a new-style local branch at McColls, 2 Church Street, Kempsey, Worcester, WR5 3JG.

"The Post Office will open on Friday, June 5 at 1pm and the service will be provided at a combination counter in the store, where the Post Office terminal will sit alongside the till.

“Post Office service will be available seven days a week during the store’s opening hours Monday – Saturday; 6am to 10pm and 7am to 10pm on Sunday. Customers will benefit from 111 hours of Post Office service every week."

Julia Marwood, Regional Network Manager said: “We know how important Post Office services are to residents in this part of Worcester and we are delighted to be re-opening this branch in McColls and I am sure putting this new-style Post Office back at the heart of the community will be popular with customers.”

The return of the post office has been welcomed by West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin who said she campaigned extensively for its return.

She lobbied the Post Office senior management to secure a return of the postal service to Kempsey when the former postmaster retired.

She took Network Director Kevin Gilliland to see the former site and to visit the Spar shop during a visit to Worcestershire in 2012,.

Mrs Baldwin said: “This is wonderful news for Kempsey residents and it will see a post office service return to the village after a seven year absence.

“I brought a delegation of senior managers from the Post Office to Worcestershire to come and visit a number of villages and took Kevin in to meet Mr and Mrs Purewal during our stop in Kempsey.

“I am really pleased that this work has directly led to the resumption of a postal service and I hope that if I am re-elected in May, I will be able to join people in Kempsey celebrating the re-opening.”