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Pressure is mounting on Royal Mail to be ‘responsible neighbours’ following its decision to ban its staff from parking their own vehicles at a delivery office.
Moreton Hall residents who live near the delivery office in Skyliner Way, Bury St Edmunds, have safety concerns over increased parking in their roads since Royal Mail took the action towards the end of last year.
Royal Mail confirmed it could no longer accommodate staff members’ personal vehicles at the delivery office in Skyliner Way due to the growth of its fleet and safety concerns following ‘incidents’ due to congestion in the car park. It employs 160 people at the office.
Neighbours Steve Hubbard and Emma Crowe, who live off Primack Road, spoke of their fears ‘someone is going to get hurt’ due to the parking problems.
It is an issue that has been raised by the Moreton Hall Residents’ Association while both the district and county council said they were aware and trying to resolve it.
Steve, 63, said he had nearly been hit in the back twice now, in the car, while indicating to turn into his road – and his partner was also nearly hit – and ‘dreaded’ it happening while on his motorbike.
Due to the parked vehicles, he said a car and a bus could not pass in Primack Road, adding it would be a ‘nightmare’ for the emergency services.
He said: “It won’t be long before a fire engine or an ambulance won’t be able to get down there and in an emergency, that’s a real concern.”
He said he sympathised with the Royal Mail workers who had taken a job to be told they could no longer park on site.
Describing Primack Road as looking ‘like Scalextric’, Emma said: “The only day you get any peace is a Sunday and that’s what our estate used to be like until last October. It’s just bedlam now, absolute bedlam.”
“On a Sunday, it’s lovely, but the rest of the week is an absolute nightmare and it’s all caused by one business.”
She said Royal Mail had just shifted their car park problems on to neighbouring streets.
“It’s just ridiculous,” she said, adding that she had raised the issue with Royal Mail but felt ignored by the business.
Moreton Hall county Cllr Peter Thompson said he would suggest the onus was on Royal Mail to provide adequate facilities for their staff, which could be in a number of different guises, for example a cycle to work scheme.
He added: “I think they should be responsible neighbours to the very close residents near them who have been impacted by a direct action they have made. All I can see is they are off-setting a problem they have on the local residents.”
In response to the criticism, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “All staff members have been asked to park safely and responsibly and recent visits to the area by the local health and safety manager show this guidance has been followed.”
Royal Mail suggested they were unlikely to be able to reintroduce on-site parking for personal vehicles due to space constraints.
A Suffolk Highways spokesman said: “We are aware of this issue and have had preliminary discussions with the local member about identifying a way forward. These talks are at an early stage and are ongoing.
“While those talks are ongoing we would encourage all road users to park with consideration for the community.”
Cllr Cliff Waterman, leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “We share in the frustrations of residents around this parking issue which has been caused by an operational decision by the Royal Mail.
“Our hope is that we can resolve this through talks with Royal Mail and to that end we have requested a meeting with them.
“We want them to fully understand the knock-on effects of its operational decision on the local community and to explore with them options to address this.”
He said they would invite Suffolk Highways to a meeting with Royal Mail as soon as they had a date.
He added: “In addition, as leader of West Suffolk Council I will be inviting the leader of Suffolk County Council to work with me on a number of highways-related problems affecting the district, including this one.
“I will be seeking better co-operative working so we can use our local knowledge to avoid these problems developing and to find ways to solve them.
“This approach worked last year when repeated flooding caused mayhem along Compiegne Way. Pressure from West Suffolk councillors of all political parties, championing the views of local residents, joined with others to finally achieve a solution being put in place by the highways authority.”
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