WALLINGFORD’S post office is about to get a new home following a major refurbishment at one of the town’s longest-serving shops.

The revamp at KP Stationers, which has been taking place for the past year, is nearing completion.

On March 11, the town’s post office will relocate to the stationery shop at 18 Market Place from its temporary home at 11 St Martin’s Street.

Bernard Stone, the town’s mayor, said the refurbishment, combined with a new location for the post office, was good news for Wallingford.

He said: “The owners are investing a significant amount of money and at a time like this they are showing great confidence in the future of Wallingford.”

The news of the refurbishment, carried out by contractor Boshers, coincides with a survey revealing that Wallingford is bucking the shop vacancy trend, despite the recent closure announcement of music store Astley’s.

KP Stationers took over the former Feathers Hotel in the early 1960s.

Wallingford sub-postmaster Ashley Kempson said: “It has taken significant private investment to secure both the new development and the new retail unit to accommodate the Wallingford Post Office.

“With the increasing popularity of online shopping and the continued erosion of our key market by large supermarkets, the retail scene in Wallingford has certainly changed.

“KP Stationers will continue to offer a newspaper and magazine delivery service, as well as increasing the range of products already sold and adding new lines that complement these.

“I sincerely hope that we are successful as I would like the post office to remain in Wallingford for a long time to come.”

Mr Kempson said the introduction of a new Lottery terminal in Waitrose meant that the post office Lottery terminal would not be transferring to the new location. However, a Lottery terminal will continue to be operated by KP Stationers.

The stationers will still run the store at 11 St Martin’s Street between the middle of March and May 2011, while the redevelopment is completed.

The survey, carried out by South Oxfordshire District Council in January, revealed that only 6.4 per cent of shops — nine units — were empty in Wallingford, compared to an average of 14.8 per cent for towns throughout the country.

According to the survey, in the more densely populated areas of the town, 31 out of 33 units are occupied in the High Street, 42 out of 44 in St Mary’s Street and 26 out of 28 in St Martin’s Street.

A number of new businesses have started trading over the last 12 months including the Glorious Bake Shop, bridal shop Bridalicious Boutique, and household store Circle 7 which moved into the large unit previously occupied by Waitrose before its move to a new store in the town.

Rodney Mann, cabinet member for economic development, said: “It is a real boost for Wallingford that during these very tough economic times the town continues to buck the national trend with more shops opening and the number of vacant units falling.”

The original post office building in St Martin’s Street is called The Old Post Office and is now a restaurant.

Martins newsagent at 11 St Martin’s Street ran the post office following the closure of The Old Post Office.

When Waitrose relocated to its current location in 2005, the post office moved from Martins to a portable building in the old Waitrose car park.

In 2007, KP Stationers invested in a short-term lease of 11 St Martin’s Street, as a temporary home for the post office.