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Solar-powered ‘postboxes of the future’ are to be rolled out across parts of the Isle of Wight.
A number of current Island postboxes have been deemed ‘out of service’ and have been taped off.
Signs attached to them read: “Sorry this postbox is currently out of service. Postbox of the future coming soon”.
Royal Mail revealed in August 2025 it was introducing 3,500 of their new postboxes across the country.
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A trial of the new postboxes took place in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire last year.
Once installed, Islanders will be able to scan a barcode on the Royal Mail app, opening a solar-powered draw on the postbox.
Empty postbox on Union Street, Ryde (Image: Contributed)
This will then allow them to post parcels, which are usually too big for the traditional slot.
Royal Mail has said parcels as big as a shoebox should be able to fit, while proof and tracking is available through the app.
There will also be a separate slot for letters.
Royal Mail said it is sending and returning more parcels than ever before and this is ‘by far’ the most convenient solution.
Royal Mail’s new solar-powered (Image: Royal Mail/PA Wire)
Jack Clarkson, managing director of out-of-home and commercial excellence at Royal Mail, said: “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.”
Although Royal Mail has yet to publish a full list of locations for the Island, signs have appeared on postboxes on Union Street, Ryde and by Osborne House, in East Cowes.
It comes at a time when Islanders have complained of delays to deliveries and having no post for ‘days on end’.
When contacted by the County Press, Royal Mail said delays are typically down to ‘temporary factors, such as resourcing pressure’.
It is not yet known when exactly the new postboxes will be rolled out.
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