Margate’s Post Office will leave its home in Cecil Square next month.

The branch will reopen in WHSmith in the town’s High Street on March 19, following a refurbishment of the premises.

The decision follows a six-week public consultation, which ended on January 12, where customers were asked to comment on the location of the proposed premises, accessibility or community issues.

A public meeting took place last November at which the plans were fiercely opposed by customers and local residents.

Bosses say there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of the move and staff at the Cecil Square branch have the legal right to transfer to the new operator if they wish.

The new location for the branch is WHSmith, 94 High Street, Margate. This is around 250 metres from its current site at 22-23 Cecil Square.

The Post Office say the move is part of a major modernisation programme across the Post Office network designed to ensure that “branches are sustainable, profitable and no longer reliant on government funding”.

Crown Network general manager Roger Gale said: “We are committed to keeping a Post Office branch in Margate and to maintaining the same levels of service for our customers.

“We believe the best way for us to do this is to change the way we operate the branch, so following the move it will be run by WHSmith rather than by us directly.”

The new Post Office will have longer opening hours on Saturdays, and be open from 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Saturday.

It will have four serving positions, a mixture of two screened and two open-plan counters.

WHSmith has been operating post offices within its stores since 2007 and runs more than 100 branches.