COUNCIL leaders have said they are “appalled” at Royal Mail’s decision to close five sorting offices after being snubbed at a crunch meeting at the civic centre.

Southend Council chief executive Rob Tinlin wrote to Royal Mail in October requesting an urgent meeting after it announced plans to close the sorting offices in Leigh, Shoebury, Great Wakering, Canewdon and Rochford.

The meeting was held on December 5 where leaders planned to discuss their opposition to the closures and talk about alternative solutions.

But instead of talking over the plans, two members of staff were sent to inform them it was a done deal and Royal Mail would publicly announce the closures the next day.

The closures will happen as early as February next year - leaving customers with no choice but to pick up their missed mail and parcels from Southend’s Short Street office.

Southend Council leader, Nigel Holdcroft, said: “I am appalled and shocked by Royal Mail’s behaviour with regards to this matter, which has the horrible feel of a stitch-up about it.

“It appears to have taken absolutely no account of the affect this would have on the communities concerned, let alone the logistical difficulties it would cause in Short Street.”

Leader of Rochford District Council, Terry Cutmore, added: "Royal Mail management have to appreciate that they are withdrawing a vital resource for our community. The elderly, the disabled, our local businesses and those without available transport, particularly in our rural communities, depend on them.

“I - and all of my fellow councillors - urge them to rethink this decision. To withdraw such vital facilities from the Rochford District is short-sighted and will have no positive impact in the area. I believe this stance will lose them their reputation and much of their business as other private providers will be the only ones to benefit."

Southend Council will be writing to Royal Mail to protest about the way it has handled the matter.

 

Thousands signed petitions to keep the lifeline offices open

THOUSANDS of people have objected to the closures of the sorting offices.

Petitions have gathered massive support across the whole of the area and Leigh alone has more than 5,000 people signed up to protect the service.

In Great Wakering, estate agent Hunt Roche plastered its building in the High Street with posters protesting against the closure and around 1,000 people - roughly a third of the population in Wakering and Barling - signed a petition against the plans.

Dan Elliott, from Hunt Roche, said: “There are so many elderly people in the village that rely on our little post office to pick up parcels. It is outrageous really.

“Transport in Wakering is not fantastic terms of buses and there isn’t a train station so a lot of people here rely on it.”

Mark Flewitt, councillor for St Laurence ward, has been heavily involved in the Leigh campaign.

He added: “I am deeply disappointed by their response. They have had a meeting and just come away and nothing has changed. I just think it will touch people in all sorts of ways, another part of our social fabric will be gone never to come back again.“

 

Fears for disruption to traffic

PLANS to centralise the five closed sorting offices in Southend could cause traffic chaos.

Royal Mail has previously objected to Tesco’s plans to build a new superstore in Short Street on the grounds that it would be likely to cause traffic disruption in the area.

But it plans to centralise all of its sorting office activity without making any extra provision for customer parking at Short Street, where reorganisation plans have still to be finalised.

Southend Council wrote to Royal Mail’s Noreen Perry requesting an urgent meeting to enable it to discuss its concerns about the planned sorting office closures.

In her reply she wrote: “No decision has yet been made. We are still exploring our options, but expect to be able to share more information in the near future’.”

 

Royal Mail says changes need to be made

Royal Mail spokesperson, Morag Turnbull, said: "We must modernise Royal Mail's operations to deal with the changing mail bag of less letters and more parcels that we are now dealing with. We are currently undertaking one of the biggest transformations in UK industry. Royal Mail is investing in new technology and equipment and upgrading operational facilities in order to ensure that we have world class facilities which provide the most efficient and effective network for delivering the post.

 

"The consolidation of delivery offices including the five Essex Delivery Offices into our state-of-the-art mail processing unit in Southend will play a major part in doing so and also help to place the business on a sound, secure and stable footing.  There will be no change to the delivery services we provide six-days a week to customers in the Southend area.

"These relocations are a commercial business decision. Royal Mail does issue information to stakeholders and all customers before any changes to our mail operation take place.

"We met with Southend-on-Sea Council yesterday to keep them informed of our plans and we have written to other stakeholders in this area. We will be writing to customers and stakeholders four to six weeks prior to any changes happening."