LANGLEE post office reopened under new owners last week after it moved to the pharmacy building next door.

The post office now runs from a desk in the pharmacy on Marmion Road, but the move has concerned some local residents who believe the new owners “stole” it from the corner shop, where the service operated from for several years. The future of the shop is now uncertain.

Umar Razzaq, who's company Elixer Healthcare opened the pharmacy last year, has defended his actions and said  that by buying it over he has in fact saved the post office; a service that Langlee was at a risk of losing altogether.

According to Mr Razzaq, the owner of the shop was unwilling to modernise the post office desk as by the requirements of royal mail chiefs, which would have led to it being shut down.

Mr Razzaq said: “There have been a few negative comments where people have said we stole the post office from the owner of the newsagents and have damaged his business, but that's not true.

“He signed a release to say he was giving it away voluntarily. And, if we didn't take the business over it would have been lost from Langlee altogether because the owner wasn't going to go ahead with the modernisation.

“If we didn't take it on, it would have closed from the shop anyway, and there would no longer be a post office in Langlee. We have saved it."

The post office was required to undergo a remodel as part of a major investment programme and Mr Razzaq said that with no other suitable location for the post office to move to, Langlee would have lost the service had he not offered to relocate it to his pharmacy.

"There isn't really anywhere else it could go. By taking it on, we have done a good thing for Langlee."

The shop owner said he was unable to comment on the situation and that he wishes the pharmacy all the best with the new addition to their business, but has said there are questions marks over the future of the shop.

Mr Razzaq responded: "People think we muscled in and were trying to steal his business but it's the complete opposite.

“As for the running of the shop, the owner is still trading and hopefully he does stay open. It would be very unfair to blame us if the newsagents closed because the owner voluntarily signed the post office away to us. We didn't take it from him.”

Mr Razzaq believes that the post office running alongside the pharmacy is a good matching up of services and that the benefits of the new site will soon be realised: “Some residents and community councillors were against the pharmacy when it first came as well, but now they all support it and think it's brilliant.

"People don't like change so maybe it'll just take a little while for them to get used to it like they did with the pharmacy.”

The post office is open during the pharmacy trading hours of 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday.