Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps has maintained the pressure on the Post Office to restore a service to Welwyn Garden City by handing over a petition signed by local residents to Post Office Ltd representative Laura Tarling.

The petition, signed by more than 1,000 local residents, calls on the Post Office to reopen a service in WGC following the abrupt closure of the branch on Howardsgate in October last year, which left residents without access to key postal services.

After being handed the petition, Ms Tarling said that there is now an interested party in running the Post Office and that progress was being made.

Grant commented: “The number of signatures on this petition illustrates how many of my constituents rely on using this important service. I’ve been disappointed with how long it has taken to restore the post office to our town and have stressed just how important it is to be resolved as quickly as possible now. I am cautiously optimist that this will soon be resolved, but rest assured I will be keeping the pressure up until local people can walk through the door of a WGC Post Office once again.”