ALTON post office is to become a 'main' branch. Having been downgraded in 2007 when the main post office in the High Street was closed and the business relocated to its current position in the WH Smith store in Westbrook Walk, Alton's post office is to be part of an initiative, agreed with WH Smith, to provide a more modern, open-plan retail environment. In a letter to Damian Hinds MP, Post Office senior account manager John Dutton explains that the change is part of a three-year investment and support programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office, which will see around 6,000 branches (about half the Post Office network) converting to new-style branches. For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.