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The Royal Mail is intending to place a new one for Broughton-in-Furness at Station Road whilst residents and MP Michelle Scrogham have campaigned for it to be put at the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) at The Square.
The representative for Barrow and Furness has now pushed the issue to the Postal Review Panel – the highest level of escalation.
Mrs Scrogham said: “Despite sustained representations from residents and from me as the local Member of Parliament, Royal Mail has maintained its position that Station Road is the preferred location, and has declined to reconsider siting the post box in Broughton Square, adjacent to the new Post Office.
“The basis of this escalation is a fundamental disagreement with Royal Mail’s assessment of accessibility and safety.”
The issue first arose last year following the closure of the town’s previous Post Office, which also saw the corresponding post box sealed.
The Post Office has since found a new home at the TIC but arguments still persist over where the new post box will end up.
Mrs Scrogham added: “Residents, particularly older people and those with mobility impairments, have consistently raised concerns that Station Road is frequently obstructed by parked vehicles during auction mart days.
“These events are a regular and foreseeable feature of life in Broughton, not just occasional, and should therefore be treated as part of the normal operating environment when assessing accessibility.
“At these times, the road and pavements become effectively inaccessible for many residents.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson explained that, following an internal investigation, they determined that a post box in The Square would post ‘health and safety’ concerns, as well as causing parking issues for ‘posties collecting from the box’.
They added: “Station Road has been ruled to be a safer and more convenient location for a new post box.
“Should any residents need to post a letter and are unable to visit the new post box, they can hand stamped letters to their postie instead.”
Mrs Scrogham argued that the site at The Square ‘routinely accommodates’ buses, delivery vehicles, and pedestrian movement.
“It is widely regarded locally as the most accessible and inclusive location, particularly given its proximity to the new Post Office,” she commented.
“While Royal Mail has stated that it is not required to carry out a public consultation on the siting of a post box, I am concerned that the decision-making process may not have given sufficient weight to equality and accessibility considerations.”
She added that handing mail directly to postmen and women was not an ‘adequate or consistent substitute’ for a permanently accessible post box.
