Answers demanded by Bradford Council over Royal Mail office closures (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Answers demanded by Bradford Council over Royal Mail office closures

7:00am Saturday 1st September 2012 in News By Jo Winrow, City Hall Reporter

Members of a Bradford Council committee are expected to demand answers from Royal Mail over the closure of three delivery offices in the district when they meet next week.

Earlier this year the company said it intended to shut offices in Shipley , Bingley and Thornton , prompting councillors to call for them to remain open while consultation took place.

Residents and an older people’s group raised concerns about difficulties collecting parcels.

The Council’s chief executive Tony Reeves and Council leader Councillor David Green held a meeting in June with Royal Mail bosses, offering the authority’s assistance in carrying out any consultation.

Subsequently the Council’s assistant director of regeneration, Mike Cowlam, asked Royal Mail a series of questions about whether any changes had been made to the decision to close the three delivery offices and whether any consultation had been carried out.

In addition he asked whether any complaints had been received and about the impact of the closures on jobs, customer service and the volume of parcels collected from the offices.

Members of the Council’s regeneration and economy scrutiny committee are being advised to press the Royal Mail for answer to this letter, which was sent in July.

A spokesman for the company said a response had been sent to the Council “explaining that we are in the process of looking into the requests” made by Mr Reeves and Coun Green and that as soon as further information becomes available, a full reply would be sent.

It was also confirmed that the three delivery offices sites are up for sale with operations to be transferred to a site next to its Bradford North delivery office at Inkersley Road in the city centre. Operations from the Bingley site are due to be transferred in November, Bradford West in Thornton in January and Shipley in February.

It also emerged that the company is still looking at possible alternatives for people to pick up parcels.

A spokesman said: “We appreciate that this move will impact on customers in the area and our planning activities always consider how we can best protect and serve the interest of our customers.

“We must respond to the huge growth in electronic communications and the resulting decline in overall mail volumes. In the UK, mail volumes have declined by 25 per cent in the past several years and we now deliver on average 59 million items a day. With this decline in mail volumes, we must modernise our operations and the consolidation of delivery offices will play a major part in allowing us to place the business on a sound footing.”

The committee meets on Thursday at 5.30pm in City Hall.