'Inconvenience' of Tadley sorting office loss

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THE closure of the Tadley sorting office has caused inconvenience and hassle for residents across the area it used to serve, according to local councillors.

Tadley borough councillor Stephen West, who campaigned to keep the Newchurch Road sorting office open, said that the reduction in service following the closure is worse that he predicted.

Cllr West said: “I am disappointed that over the three months since the closure of the delivery office, the service has become gradually worse with deliveries arriving later.

“When I first moved to this area, we routinely received our mail before breakfast and now, many Tadley residents are receiving their mail late in the afternoon.

“When your mail is arriving after the last collection of the letterboxes, there is obviously a problem.”

Steve Spillane, chairman of Silchester Parish Council, said it is pensioners who had been most affected by the closure.

He said: “Our regular postmen and women do a great job, but when they have relief staff, who are based at the Reading sorting office, the undelivered mail is taken back there rather than to the Mulfords Hill, Tadley, office.

“There are buses to the Tadley office but not to Reading and this causes problems, particularly for the elderly people.”

Royal Mail spokeswoman Valerie Antoine said that the changes which have been made are crucial as the company looks to the future.

“These changes are essential as we safeguard the future of the service and place the company on a viable and sustainable footing. We are committed to maintaining a high quality service to our customers in Tadley.”

She added that mail deliveries in the RG postcode area exceeded the annual first class mail target during the 2011-12 financial year, with 93.1 per cent of first class stamped and franked mail arriving the next working day, above the national target of 93 per cent.