Royal Mail post boxes in Swindon to turn digital

The postal company confirmed earlier this year that it would be introducing 3,500 new ‘automated’ post boxes across the UK, changing the red pillar boxes that have stood in Britain for nearly two centuries.

Now, the first of the new post boxes are arriving in Swindon.

Concern was originally raised by residents when several post boxes across the town were found covered in black tape and “unusable” during Royal Mail’s busiest time of the year.

Affected sites reported to the Swindon Advertiser include the post box near Ellendune Community Centre in Wroughton, as well as one on Maunsell Way, Kellsboro’ Avenue, and outside Taw Hill Medical Practice in the north of Swindon.

The taped-up post box inTaw Hill (Image: Councillor Vinay Manro)

A post box in Wroughton (Image: Public)

“The post box I usually use at the Taw Hill GP surgery has been sealed for weeks, but I’ve noticed a few others popping up now with the same black tape all over them,” one Haydon Wick resident told the Adver.

Royal Mail has now confirmed that the selected post boxes have been sealed off in preparation for an upgrade, which will see the red boxes turn digital.

The new “automated system” will include a barcode scanner for tracked items, solar panels with battery backup, proof of posting through the app, and a wider slot for small parcels.

It’s unclear at this stage exactly when these new upgrades will be complete, or how many post boxes across Swindon are being affected.

However, Royal Mail has called it the “biggest redesign in its 175-year history”.

The new post boxes will have a solar panel top (Image: Royal Mail)

Two designs of the new postboxes were successfully trialled in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire earlier this year, including one where the lid of the postbox was black.

Royal Mail says the firm has decided internally to keep the top red as it is more in keeping with the brand.

“We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before,” said Jack Clarkson, a managing director at Royal Mail, told the BBC.

“This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces.”

Speaking previously about the taped off post box in Taw Hill, Councillor Vinay Manro said: “Royal Mail has confirmed it is not earmarked for removal. The post box will stay.

“The tape is a temporary measure while they prepare for an upgrade. Normal use will return once the work begins.”