Royal Mail trials postbox for small parcels in Cambridgeshire

Fowlmere is one of five places to be selected to trial a new post-box that accepts small parcels. The solar-powered post box will enable users to send some parcels in the post, without requiring a trip to the post-office.

Four boxes have been placed in the Hertfordshire towns of Letchworth Garden City, Ware and Hertford, alongside Cambridgeshire’s Fowlmere.

While previously only allowing parcels small enough to fit through a letterbox, the new boxes will now provide users a spot to drop off their small parcels.

To use the new post-boxes, customers scan a bar code on the parcel and drop it into a drawer, powered by the solar panels on top of the box.

Royal Mail has updated its app to allow users to send parcels this way and request a proof of postage to send to buyers afterwards.

Royal Mail chief executive Emma Gilthorpe said: “In making this historic change to our postboxes, our goal is to maximise choice and convenience for our customers.

“In an era where letter volumes continue to decline and parcels are booming, we are giving our iconic post-boxes a new lease of life on street corners across the nation.”

Letters have been in decline over the past decade, but the rise in second-hand clothes shopping on Vinted has meant that more and more small parcels are being sent across the country.

Competition is fierce for Royal Mail, with companies like Yodel and Evri rising in popularity for busy side hustlers.

The iconic red post-box is getting a modern makeover, but some members of the public are concerned about the potential drawbacks of posting small parcels this way.

One concerned member of the public said: “It’s a great idea but the thought of what a post box could turn into with something explosive or inflammable inside it is a bit worrying.”

Another discussed the risk of theft: “So who has to pay up to the customer when a parcel goes missing because Jonny Lightfinger can’t keep his hands out?! The Royal Mail or the customer who trusted their parcel to Royal Mail?”