Akaroa's postal services return to historic building

Postal services will return to the heritage post office building in Akaroa following last month's sudden closure of the iSite business, which included the town’s NZ Post retail services.

The service will now be operated from the Christchurch City Council Service Centre, which is in the old post office building on Rue Lavaud.

The planned opening date is Tuesday 3 September. Over the counter postal services will be offered Monday – Friday, 10am-2pm and post box services will be provided six days a week.

Councillor for Banks Peninsula Tyrone Fields says the local community was extremely concerned at the prospect of losing postal services altogether and it’s a relief to have found a sustainable solution.

“Retaining key services is so important for a town like Akaroa. We want it to be an attractive place for people to live, work and raise their families so having amenities like NZ Post is an important component of that.

“I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to work with NZ Post on what we anticipate will be a long-term arrangement; the advocacy from Nigel Harrison and Asif Hussain, Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula Community Board members, has been key to making this happen.

“This is a win-win for the local community, for this beautiful heritage building and for visiting tourists, who we know the town is increasingly dependent on. It’s also entirely fitting that postal services will once again return to the historic post office.”

The post office building was constructed during WW1 on the site of the first Akaroa Post Office, which was built in 1856.