A BUSY post office in Greenock town centre is to be given a major makeover - and increased opening times.

Bosses say the Cathcart Street branch will be overhauled in a refurbishment which will leave it with a new modern look and longer hours for customers to take advantage of.

The busy branch will be able to open seven days a week after the changes, which will mean hours will be extended by 24 and a half hours a week.

A new 'main' style open-plan layout will be introduced but the post office will have to shut for just over a week for the work to be carried out.

The facelift is part of the Post Office's plans to modernise its network and follows last week's announcement of a planned move for Gourock Post Office.

Cathcart Street will get four serving positions, with a mixture of screened and open plan.

There will be a Post Office serving point at the retail counter - allowing customers to take advantage of services while doing their shopping.

The post office will close for the refurbishment on Thursday 7 March at 6pm before reopening on Friday 15 March at 9am.

Customers are being directed to the outlets in the Oak Mall and Brisbane Street during the short closure period.

Sue Richardson, Post Office Regional Network Manager for Scotland, said: "We understand how important having a Post Office is to residents in Greenock and we are confident that this new modern Post Office service will meet the needs of the local community and secure services for the future.

"This modernisation is part of a three-year investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office, that will see around 6,000 branches - about half the Post Office network - converting to new-style branches.

"This investment makes a commitment to no more branch closure programmes."

The new opening hours at Cathcart Street will be: 6am to 7pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and 6am to 7.30pm Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 9am to 4pm on Sundays.