Fight to save Whitchurch delivery office

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ROYAL Mail’s plan to shut its Whitchurch delivery office has been unanimously opposed by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

The council voted to oppose Royal Mail’s decision and encouraged Councillor Clive Sanders to try and persuade mail chiefs to reverse it.

The decision to shut the office in Church Street on May 5 will see 16 staff relocated to Basingstoke and affect customers in the RG25 and RG28 postcode areas.

Customers who miss a delivery may have to arrange a second delivery or travel to Basingstoke for a parcel. Whitchurch Councillor Keith Watts, who asked the meeting to oppose the closure, said Royal Mail had now agreed to waive the normal 50p charge for people collecting parcels from Whitchurch Post Office at Tesco Express in Winchester Road.

Cllr Watts added: “This closure represents a significant degradation of the service to Whitchurch, Overton.”

Seconding the motion, Over-ton Councillor Paula Baker, said Royal Mail tried and failed to shut the office four years ago.

Cllr Sanders, Cabinet member for community safety and development, criticised Cllr Watts for wasting the time of officers examining the problem by failing to tell them of the outcome of his meeting with Royal Mail.

He said: “I don’t want to see further time wasted on something that is already on the radar.”

In a statement, Poppy Brady, a Royal Mail external relations executive, said: “We can confirm the 50p call-and-collect fee is being waived.

“This is one of a number of ways that customers will be able to access items of mail we cannot deliver first time following the changes.”