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The public have been left baffled after a number of post boxes were covered with black tape
Brummies have been left scratching their heads after a number of local postboxes were covered up in black film.
Several of the classic red pillar boxes, which have lined our streets for nearly 200 years, have been taken out of use and bear a sign saying ‘Out Of Use Automated System Coming Soon.’
The reason is Royal Mail is currently rolling out 3,500 solar-powered postboxes across the country which will allow the public to send small parcels.
Read More: Birmingham city centre drivers ‘confused’ by new one-way system
The firm called it their “biggest redesign in its 175-year history” and the new look will feature a grid of dark solar panels on a white rectangle, which will be facing south for “optimal sunlight.”
It will have a barcode scanner which will release a drop-down drawer enabling customers to deposit parcels up to the size of a shoe box.
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Proof of posting and parcel tracking can be requested via the app.
The new design was trialled in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and is now being implemented elsewhere.
Jack Clarkson, managing director of out-of-home and commercial excellence at Royal Mail, said previously: “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before.
“This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces.
“There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK.
“Our message is clear, if you have a Royal Mail label on your parcel, and it fits, put it in a postbox and we’ll do the rest.”
People had been commenting on Facebook about find their iconic red postboxes covered in black film around Birmingham.
There is no date on when the project will be completed here.
Lesley Hughes said: “They are going to put a solar powered top on it to enable it to take in parcels.
“If it ever had a knitted topper the knitting group are going to have to find another way to decorate it.”
Tony Townsend wrote: “Several boxes around Streetly are also taped with black plastic. Big changes on the way for us.”
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