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Concern in Ashtead that introduction of a digital postbox on will impact the viability of the post office.
Report to ITV News London by Faye Barker link below
https://www.itv.com/watch/news/digital-postboxes-cause-commotion-in-surrey/dkghp9b
Royal Mail plans to convert about 3,500 postboxes out of the 115,000 across the country. The first new-look postboxes were installed last year in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The rollout will be completed this spring.
Unfortunately, there is no way to tell if your local postbox is getting a makeover: there is no postcode checker or interactive map, and locations can still change.
The postbox on Randalls Road Leatherhead is currently sealed and might be part of the rollout?
How do you use the new postboxes?
These boxes can accept shoebox-sized parcels as well as letters. You can still send a letter in the same way, but you can now also deposit a small package just below the letter slot. The drawer is powered by a solar panel on the roof of the postbox.
Sending a parcel involves buying postage online, printing a label and scanning a QR code on the Royal Mail app to open the drawer.
What if you don’t want to download an app or use a printer?
Royal Mail says that you can still send your parcels as before. “Our postboxes of the future complement our existing services,” says a spokesperson. “They offer another convenient way for customers to access Royal Mail’s services, alongside home delivery and collection, our customer service points, post office branches, lockers and Royal Mail shops.”
They are meant as an additional service. Royal Mail and the Post Office have been separate businesses for over a decade, so a new box down the road does not automatically trigger the closure of your local post office.
