Last ditch attempt to save Radlett delivery office

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A RESIDENT determined to keep Radlett’s delivery office in the village is urging people to come together to fight the decision to shut it down.


Royal Mail announced last year the delivery office in Watling Street would be relocated to Borehamwood to help improve the efficiency of its operations.

A date has still not been set for the move, but one resident is already worrying about the two hour journey he faces to collect undelivered mail when it goes ahead.

Malcolm Bermange, of Medow Mead, said: “If they go to Borehamwood and if I want to go there by public transport there is one bus per hour and I have worked out it will take two hours to get there and back and that is a bit excessive. Royal Mail will save money but to our expense and convenience.”

Mr Bermange, who has lived in Radlett for 45 years, added: “I would like to see people come together and take a stand. If you do nothing then it will happen so I think if you can try and do something then it may do some good.

“We have already lost our fire station and our police station, and these things are all part and parcel of our community.”

Another Radlett resident, Clive Glover, said: “Royal Mail need to consult with residents about their plans and the ideal would be that they could still enable parcels to be picked up locally. The delivery office has been here for a long time and it is something people really rely on.

“There is a great big anonymous bureaucracy out there making decisions that affect local people.”

Royal Mail, who recently transferred Harpenden’s delivery office to St Albans, confirmed there will be no compulsory redundancies as a result of the move and staff will be reimbursed for any extra mileage incurred by the change of their workplace.

They also said they will notify customers when a date is set, and the leasehold site in Watling Street is set to be handed back to the landlord when it is no longer required.

Royal Mail spokesperson Sally Hopkins said: “We appreciate that this move will impact on customers in the area and our planning activities always give due consideration as to how we can best protect and serve the interest of our customers.

“Almost no other company has daily contact with its customers in the way Royal Mail does and so we wish to continue providing consistent and high-quality services to our customers in Radlett and across the UK.”

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Radlett residents win seven-year battle to keep sorting office

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Villagers fighting to save their postal delivery office from closure have won their seven-year battle.

Royal Mail announced plans to close the sorting office in Watling Street, Radlett in 2003 - much to the dismay of residents who said it would "spoil village life."

But today, the postal firm made a u-turn on this decision, which came as an unexpected surprise to campaigners in the Radlett village.

Under the proposals, people would have been forced to drive four miles, or wait for the one-hourly bus to the delivery office in Shenley Road, Borehamwood, to pick up parcels.

Harold Karmel, of Newberries Avenue, Radlett, previously told the Borehamwood Times that the sorting office was an integral part of village life.

The 70-year-old said: "Everyone in the sorting office is community orientated. You pop in for your post and they know your name, have a bit of a joke with you, and it makes you feel relaxed.

"I did not want to lose that, one of the reasons I moved to Radlett was because I love village life and that was very much a part of that.

"The very thought of having to traipse to Borehamwood to pick up my post was not something I wanted to think about. I am very happy, I just hope they do not go back on their decision now."

Mark Spillman, who works as an area manager for a charity from his home in Shenley Hill, Radlett, said: "This is a huge relief. I am not always home to pick up parcels, and I began to worry how I would cope if I had to go to Borehamwood every day.

"The news is fantastic. Just this morning I was wondering how much longer it would be open for so it was a nice surprise when I found out it is staying after all."

Royal Mail was previously told the Borehamwood Times the post office would be shut by March 2013 due to "increasingly tough trading conditions."

Mark Candler, Royal Mail’s delivery sector manager, said: "As a result of feedback from our union and our staff, we have now decided to retain the Radlett delivery office in its current premises.

"We have also no plans to relocate the Borehamwood delivery office."