Lossiemouth could lose Royal Mail delivery office

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The Lossiemouth community could lose its postal delivery office if cost-saving plans to relocate go ahead.

Royal Mail said the possibility of closing the branch on the town’s High Street was very real, describing it as “no longer fit for purpose”.

A spokeswoman said yesterday a transfer to Elgin Delivery Office would be part of continual efforts to improve productivity.

Royal Mail’s Morag Turnbull said: “This is part of Royal Mail’s ongoing transformation of its business and work to increase the efficiency of its operation as well as providing delivery offices that are fit for purpose for our staff and for our customers.



“No final decision has been made yet and we are committed to continuing to provide a first class service to our business and residential customers.

“The Lossiemouth Office is not fit for purpose, as we now deal with many more parcels. We expect that any move will have a minimal impact on our customers.”

Ms Turnbull stressed there would be “no compulsory redundancies” as a result of the proposed merger.

But local representatives for Moray have expressed their concerns at the potential closure, and have now arranged a meeting with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) in an attempt to safeguard the interest of staff and residents in the town.

MP Angus Robertson said: “Clearly the proposed closure of the Royal Mail Delivery Office will be a cause for concern in Lossiemouth and the surrounding community.

“We need to properly understand what the reasons are for this proposal, what the impacts on the community and workforce may be and whether alternative solutions that retain the Delivery Office are possible.”

Mr Lochhead, MSP for the region, added: “We need to get to the bottom of what exactly is being proposed, whether alternatives have been considered and what the impacts will be if it happens.

“Speaking to the union will be a key part of that and we are also keen to hear the views of people in the community. We will work closely with others to find a way forward on this issue.”

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Royal Mail insist Lossiemouth office ‘not fit for purpose’

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CLAIMS THAT LOSSIEMOUTH’S Royal Mail sorting office is “not fit for purpose” are being cited as why the town could lose another vital local service.

As exclusively revealed earlier this week by insideMoray, plans are being put in place to close the local sorting office early next year.

Lossiemouth postal staff have been told that they will likely need to move to Elgin in March in a move that Royal Mail insist is the best way they can continue to provide a “first class service” to business and residential customers in the town.

But the cost-saving plans are already being resisted in Lossiemouth, with residents left shocked at a move many say will have a massive impact on a community already being hit by the closure of the local branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Confirming that Royal Mail is considering the future of the Lossiemouth office, a spokeswoman said that it was part of the “ongoing transformation of its business” and insists the move would increase efficiency of its operations in the town.

The spokeswoman added that no final decision had been taken, but warned: “We are committed to provide a first-class service to our business and residential customers. The Lossiemouth office is not fit for purpose, as we now deal with many more parcels.

“We expect that any move will have a minimal impact on our customers.”

However, the local independent candidate in the forthcoming Heldon & Laich by-election, Dennis Slater, insisted that far from having a minimal impact closure would be devastating for the local community.

Mr Slater said: “We already have a situation where elderly people in Lossiemouth are faced with the issue of losing one of their local banks – now they are being told that the closure of their local mail sorting office will have ‘minimal impact’.

“Quite how they can reach that conclusion is almost insulting to the many residents who do not have cars and so driving in to Elgin to collect parcels and signed-for letters or packets is simply not an option.

“We have seen local services in our towns and villages being eroded for long enough, there comes a time when you have to call a halt. I’m pleased to see that Royal Mail say they have not made a decision and I very much hope that when they do it is made with the community in mind rather than a pure cost-saving exercise.”

Local representatives of the postal workers union CWU will meet with Moray’s parliamentary representatives next week to discuss the closure threat.