Shopkeepers step in to save Wivenhoe's post office

Sutharsan Shanmuganathan and his wife, Sutha – both of whom are shopkeepers in Brightlingsea – are the new postmasters for Wivenhoe Cross Post Office.

Mr and Mrs Shanmuganathan run the Wine Well newsagents in Brightlingsea High Street, but will employ extra staff at the business so they can run both the Wivenhoe and Brightlingsea branches of Wine Well.

Postmasters Sutha and Logi Shanmuganathan

The result is longer opening hours for Wivenhoe Post Office at the shop now open from 7am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to 1pm on Sundays.

It means the post office, previously open from 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Saturday, is open for an extra 43 hours each week.

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Mr Shanmuganathan said: “This will be our first Post Office and we are really looking forward to providing this essential service and greatly improving the retail range in the store.

Sutha Shanmuganathan and a selection of his retail team – Delip, Amanda, Laura and Ollie

“We are pleased to be able to increase the shop’s opening hours before the busy Christmas period.

“I really care about the communities that my shops serve – I started off in retail in London, but the people of Brightlingsea were very welcoming and appreciative and I am looking forward to serving and getting to know the Wivenhoe Cross community.”

A free-to-use ATM machine, coffee machine, and food-to-go section will also be added to the newsagents.