Related Articles
Royal Mail has so far rolled out 10 “postboxes of the future” in Gloucestershire.
It said installation of 3,500 solar-powered boxes, featuring a pull-out parcel compartment, is “on track”, despite claims the project had been “botched”.
The new design allows customers to send and return labelled parcels – up to the size of a shoebox – through a postbox for the first time.
Customers can also request proof of posting, and track their parcel, using the Royal Mail app.
The rollout was announced in August following a successful pilot but some customers have said it has resulted in postboxes being sealed up for weeks.
The boxes are being wrapped up in black plastic and clingfilm rendering them unusable. The changer can take “several weeks” as they have to be up individually measured and retrofitted at a centre in Gloucester, reports The Times.
So far 10 of the new postboxes have been fitted in Gloucestershire in Pagan hill Post Office in Stroud (GL5 4AN), Shurdington Post Office in Cheltenham (GL51 4SH), Gotherington Post Office in Cheltenham (GL52 9EW), GL53 9BZ, GL54 1AB, GL6 7DP and GL11 5SL, GL52 3NN, GL52 9HR and GL51 9RE.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Our postboxes of the future offer another convenient way for customers in Gloucestershire to access Royal Mail’s services, alongside home delivery and collection, our Customer Service Points, Post Office branches, lockers and Royal Mail Shops.”
