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Leeds residents are expressing their relief after a beloved local Post Office was offered a relocation lifeline.

Elderly residents in Moortown were left upset and concerned in September after it was announced that the local Post Office, located in the Nisa Local on Harrogate Road, was to permanently shut.

It came after a number of local bank branches had recently shut up shop leaving the local community at a loss for where to go locally for their pension and other banking needs.

The Post Office has now been saved, however after local shop owner Ree Williams, 43, took on the responsibility to house the service in her Love Always Balloons shop.

The Post Office has now been saved after local shop owner Ree Williams took on the responsibility. Picture: Tim Ireland/PA

Speaking to the YEP, she said: “It’s really a lifeline for the local community. A large chunk of the Moortown community is made up of an older generation that grew to really rely on the Post Office.

"The nearest bank is probably a 35 minute walkaway but for an older person that’s a bus ride so giving them that option on their doorstep is such a positive thing.”

Love Always Balloons is located just three doors down from the Post Office’s original home.

After months of navigating the necessary security checks, red tape and getting the counters installed, the service will open to the public from this Thursday (March 23), with an official opening planned for Monday, March 27 at 2pm.

Ree said: “From posting the official notice in my window around four weeks ago the amount of people that have knocked on the door and said ‘thank you’ and ‘we really appreciate you doing this’. It’s been unbelievable.

"We’ve had such a great positive response since I posted that notice and the Post Office really is something that has been missed these past six or seven months.”

Local councillors Mahalia France-Mir, Sharon Hamilton and Mohammed Shahzad are all set to be in attendance at its official opening.

Blown away by the outpouring of love and support by the local community, Ree revealed that the councillors were even willing to rearrange meetings just to be present.

She added: “It’s just about giving back to the local community, it had to be done and after all the work my excitement to finally open is definitely a nine or a 10.”

Moortown Post Office: Relief for Leeds residents as local Post Office offered relocation lifeline