Dear Resident,
I hope you are well in these challenging times. I am writing to you today to ask you to support Helsby Post Office. As you may be aware, some time ago following a public consultation, Helsby Post Office moved into Thrifty’s Convenience Store 205 Chester Road.
You can now access a wide range of Post Office products at two open plan modern serving points open from 09:00 to 17:30 Monday to Friday and 09:00 to 15:00 on Saturday.
Helsby Parish Council has very kindly supplied the following information that details the history of our Post Office:
The first record to date is in the 1857 Post Office Trade Directory for Helsby. The Post Office was located at Rose Farm where the farmer Richard Peers also ran a shop. In the mid-1870s the terrace across the road from Middle House Farm was built and the Post Office moved to the end house. The sub postmaster was John White. The terrace was then called “Ebenezer Terrace” perhaps in memory of Ebenezer Peers the son of the former sub postmaster who had died in 1869 aged 21. It later became known as “Post Office Terrace” and Helsby’s first telephone exchange operated from here. There is no record of the exact date it moved to Chester Road but perhaps by 1945 when James Riddoch became sub postmaster.
We are pleased that we managed to save the Post Office by agreeing to integrate the Post Office into our store, however you may be surprised to learn that we operate the Post Office service on zero profit for our business and it is simply run as a service for the local community and to attract customers to our store. This is also true with the cash machine that is available for your convenience.
I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Thrifty’s - we are a family-owned business employing 8 local people and our brand “Thrifty’s” is a Multi Award Winner including Retailers Retailer of the Year at The National Convenience Awards 2020. We offer a wide range of basic grocery items including chilled beers, wine and spirits and not forgetting our legendary bargain cakes and confectionery. I am also pleased to report our milk and bread is locally sourced to help support the local economy.
All we ask is next time you are using the post office please support the store and help increase our over-the-counter shop sales by browsing and buying some of our products.
If you have not used the Post Office service or shopped at Thrifty’s please feel free to call in and meet our friendly team and pick up your daily essentials and do not forget to check out our bargains!
We are also a drop-off point for Runcorn & District Food Bank.
Please stay safe and we look forward to welcoming you into our community store soon.
Yours Sincerely,
Mark - Thrifty’s Store Manager
