Royal Mail are considering a move within Belfast after being at their current city base for more than 50 years. The organisation has been located at Tomb Street since 1974 and are reportedly looking for a more modern delivery hub option within Belfast.
It is believed that Royal Mail now want to develop a new base in the city which will give them the capability to shift their operations to the new site. This could see the current Tomb Street base, which oversees deliveries for north, south and west Belfast, moved to a future base.
A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: “We’re looking to relocate the Tomb Street office following a review of our property estate, but no plans will be confirmed until the planning application (submitted by the developer) has been decided.”
This process is expected to take around three years, and it is understood that potential plans have been laid out to current staff. If the project went ahead, it would be one of the biggest infrastructure changes in the business's operations in the city for a generation.
Royal Mail also operate a major sorting and distribution base at Mallusk on the outskirts of Belfast. The Tomb Street building has been updated over the years, including a new facade being added between 1995 and 1997. Nearby, plans have already been given the go ahead for a new apartment development which could see the demolition of a multi-storey car park opposite the Royal Mail location. It would also include the addition of 298 apartments and will be set over a 1 9-storey building with a ground floor commercial unit.
The postal giant has previously raised noise concerns which it claims could potentially impact residents of the proposed apartments. It flagged issues over sound with the development from its own delivery office.
Royal Mail has previously raised noise concerns which it says could impact potential residents of the proposed apartment scheme. It flagged issues with the development over sound from its own delivery office, which would sit adjacent to the planned development by ES Corporation Street Limited.
In a letter on behalf of Royal Mail, it said that a noise report carried out does not clearly capture “early morning activity” at its site. It added that planning regulations should provide noise mitigation stipulations, and that existing businesses should not be unduly impacted by a "new noise-sensitive use." The business said it realised that its operations would be likely to affect residents in a new development and called mitigation measures essential.