Villagers expressed anger over plan to move sorting office

Several parishes have called on Royal Mail to rethink the closure of the RG7 sorting office

ANGER is growing across the district at plans to move the Royal Mail RG7 sorting offices to Reading.

Several parishes, acting on behalf of concerned residents, have this week expressed fury at the proposals and have called on Royal Mail to re-think, or at least consult, before they axe the offices which serve the RG7 postcode area, at Tadley, Hook and Thatcham.

The move, confirmed in April this year, would mean all mail bound for RG7 would come via the Reading Delivery Office and any undelivered post would return there, leaving residents to travel, in may cases much further, to pick up packages and letters.

Hundreds of Bucklebury residents have signed a petition calling for Royal Mail to halt its plans, and now Padworth, Aldermaston, Brimpton and Woolhampton parish councils have all added their voice to the campaign.

Much of the concern lies around how the move will affect the elderly and vulnerable.

At a meeting of Bucklebury Parish Council on Monday chairwoman Wynne Frankum said those without transport would face huge inconvenience, and could mean elderly people having to travel to Caversham to pick up what could amount to junk mail.

Ward member Graham Pask (Con), who raised the alarm earlier in the year, said he had contacted the chairman of Royal Mail on the back of the large level of local concern, but was unconvinced by the response which stated moving the operations to Caversham would improve service

The vice-chairman Barry Dickens added that anger had been generated by Royal Mail's lack of consultation, and asked if such fundamental upheaval without public input was allowed in the firm's charter.

West Berkshire district councillor Irene Neill (Con, Aldermaston) attends meetings of Woolhampton, Brimpton, Aldermaston and Midgham parish councils, and she said all were considering action.

She said Midgham had circulated news to dismayed residents asking them to write to Royal Mail, and the other parish councils were following suit.

“Everyone is very angry at the whole idea of having to go all the way to Caversham to pick up mail,” she said.

“From the local perspective, there has been no consultation on this which is disappointing”.

Padworth Parish Council held a meeting on Monday to discuss the problem, and the chairman Keith Gilbert described the proposals were “ridiculous”.

“There was a lot of feelings expressed on behalf of the old folks,” he said.

“We very much back Bucklebury's stance and their feelings are our feelings. We have objected very strongly to these proposals.”

The RG7 postal area covers a large swathe of West Berkshire and Hampshire including parts of Newbury, Hungerford, Theale, Tadley, Thatcham and outlying villages.

The chairman of Aldermaston parish council, David Shirt, said Aldermaston would be doubly hit as Tadley and Thatcham sorting offices both serve the parish.

“We had a meeting and expressed our disappointment. We believe it would result in the loss of a local amenity, loss of local knowledge amongst the postmen, and lead to a deterioration in service.”

Royal Mail has again refused to be drawn on its proposals, stating that the operational review is still under way, and no date for the move had been confirmed.