A HARPENDEN supermarket is undergoing an �846,000 refit to transform it into a new Co-operative store, opening at Southdown later this month.

And in what will be a major boost to local people, the former Southdown Post Office is being relocated to the new store in Southdown Road and will open on the same day, Thursday, November 18.

A spokesman for the Co-op said that 30 new jobs would be created at the former Somerfield supermarket, bringing the total staff employed there to 105. The group acquired the Somerfield chain last year and is currently re-branding the stores throughout the country.

A Post Office spokesman said: “We are delighted to be able to confirm the relocation date of this branch. The same range of services will continue to be available and customers will still be able to collect benefits in cash using our everyday banking services or the Post Office card account.

“Customers will benefit from the following; a brand new, modern purpose-built serving counter, level entry with automatic door to assist customers with mobility constraints, low-level writing desk, low-level serving counter and a hearing loop. There is a large customer car park with designated disabled bays.”

Harpenden resident Valerie Newton, who regularly shops in the area, welcomed the major refurbishment and said that being without a Post Office in the Southdown shopping area for about a year had been, “like someone had taken the beating heart out of that little shopping community.”

And she predicted that the modernised Co-op store and relocated Post Office would “breathe new life into the Southdown community just in time for Christmas.”