| The store, which has a five-counter post office, opened its doors at 8am and the first over the threshold was Mrs Mary Roy (90), who has lived in the area for nearly 70 years.
Holding a big bouquet of flowers, Mrs Roy, a well-known member of the community, told the Tele how happy she was to be the first customer.
“The shop’s just wonderful, a great asset to the area,” she said.
“Lochee without a post office would be awful and unheard of.
“I’ve lived here nearly all of my adult life and have always used the post office. The new branch is just lovely and I will definitely be using it. It also means I can pick up some shopping while I’m there.”
More than 2200 people signed a petition last year to retain the branch after it was announced Tesco was to close its Methven Street store in February.
After an anxious wait, their call was answered by local businessman Scott Campbell, who runs The Chamber Practice law fdirm and estate agency in the city’s Constitution Road.
Mr Campbell, who was brought up in Lochee, was determined to staff the shop with local workers, including those who lost their jobs when Woolworths went into administration.
He said he felt proud to have saved the post office in Lochee.
“Keeping a post office in Lochee was very important to the local people,” he said.
“A lot of older people prefer to collect their money from the post office and now they can do their shopping at the same time.
“As far as I know I was the only person who showed an interest in saving the facility.
“I just couldn’t watch Lochee losing so much.
“Most of the staff live close by and we also have a few who used to work in Woolies, which is really great,” he added.
Mr Campbell and store manager Keith Anderson have also been working in Tesco’s former premises for the past two months to ensure residents have not been without a PO service.
“The conditions we had to work in at Tesco were pretty awful but we managed, and it meant that local people only had to go for a short time without a post office,” Keith said.
“We’ve had people outside the new shop most days asking when it would be opening and they were quite taken aback at how big it is.
“The opening of our post office will ensure residents continue to have essential services within easy reach of their homes.”
Pensioner Sandy Dey (65) had travelled from Ardler to collect his pension.
“Lochee High Street is quite close for me, and it’s very good for buses. I hope the new shop will bring some life back into Lochee, there are far too many empty shops.
“I hope people do use the post office — it really is use it or lose it,” he added.
Gordon Livingstone, who lives just across the road from the store, also waited in line to collect his pension.
“I’ll definitely be using both the shop and the post office a few times a week, it’s turned out very handy for me.
“Lochee was becoming a bit of a ghost town, I hope this makes a difference.”
The SPAR store will open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm, the post office facilities will be available Monday to Friday from 8.30am until 5pm and on Saturday from 9am till 4pm. |
