The Lancaster MP says she’s been assured public opening hours of the Royal Mail collection point in Lancaster will not be reduced.
Cat Smith said customers had heard concerns that the office on Fenton Street would be changing to being open for just two hours each day, from the current opening of 8am-4pm Monday to Friday, with the potential that the customer service point may in future close entirely.
Last month she wrote to Royal Mail urging them to reconsider their plans to shorten the hours at the Lancaster delivery office.
Ms Smith said: ‘’This was absolutely not on. It’s already a faff to miss a parcel delivery and make it to the collection point in time before they close!
‘’However, I am delighted to announce that Royal Mail have now confirmed to me that they will not be reducing the opening hours here.
‘’They are currently conducting a review. The first stage of this has resulted in all current locations being preserved, but they are now reviewing opening hours to ensure they match customer demand.
‘’They have now ruled out making any changes to the opening hours in Lancaster. This will come as a huge relief to the business and personal customers who regularly use the service along with the staff whose jobs were potentially put at risk by the cut in hours.
Royal Mail’s Senior Public Affairs Manager said: ‘’In November we announced a review of our 1,200 Customer Service Points to determine the optimum number of locations following a c.50 per cent drop in footfall since the pandemic.
‘’Having completed the first stage of the review, and considered a range of options, we have decided to maintain the current estate of Customer Service Points as we seek to further improve our first-time delivery rates.
‘’Royal Mail will additionally roll out automatic next-day redeliveries for missed parcels in the coming months. This is designed to make it even easier for customers to receive parcels at home, without the need to travel to a Customer Service Point.
‘’As footfall continues to decrease, the next stage of this review will focus on ensuring that Customer Service Point opening hours match customer demand. I would like to assure you however, there are no current plans to reduce the opening hours at the Lancaster Delivery Office.”
Ms Smith added: ‘’Royal Mail need to see the value in accessible collection points and I’m delighted that they’ve changed their approach.
‘’I hope this offers some much-needed reassurance to the customers who contacted me, and no doubt many others who would be significantly inconvenienced by the drastic changes that were on the table.’’
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