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Royal Mail was warned this week to “stick to its guns” and fulfil its promise of delivering a replacement postbox for residents in Bentfield End Causeway.
Following a series of U-turns the company confirmed on Tuesday (May 7) that it would be installing a new box after the old one situated within a private wall had to be removed because the structure was in danger of collapse.
Fears that the mailbox would not be replaced prompted a flood of complaints from residents in the area, with the wall’s owners, Katherine and Kevin Jameson, bearing the brunt of the upset.
The couple criticised Royal Mail for misleading the public by issuing a statement saying that a replacement box on a pedestal would be installed nearby – when in fact it had already told them that its policy was not to reinstate it as there were other boxes within half a mile.
The company had also blamed the couple for “no longer wanting” the postbox in their wall and suggested it had given notice about its removal when in fact the Jamesons had been left to advertise the fact on social media.
Katherine said they had battled for months to get Royal Mail to engage and accept liability for the damaged wall. And they were more than happy to keep the postbox.
“We had no issue with it going back in our wall. We’ve had people commenting and our contractor got a lot of stick from people walking past and having a go at him when the work was being carried out, but we were totally up for having it put back in,” she said.
“It’s been a real slog getting anything out of them, it dragged on for months. They’ve been obstructive, denying liability and not wanting to help.
“We used that postbox, it was super-handy and we don’t want it gone either.”
Stansted councillor Alan Dean had been speaking with the couple and said he finally hoped Royal Mail had made up its mind.
“I gather they’ve been prevaricating for months so I’m going to write to them to say ‘Don’t change your mind again!’
“I feel very disappointed it’s taken them so long to get their act together and that they’ve kept changing their minds. They need to stick to their guns and do the right thing now.”
Cllr Dean said that there had probably been a postbox in that location for decades and it was well used, particularly among the older community.
Katherine said surveyors who examined the wall last year – it forms part of an old stable block that is now an annexe – warned it was in a poor state of repair due to water ingress around the postbox.
“The back of the wall where the postbox was had huge cracks in it and it was at risk of collapse,” she said.
“Initially Royal Mail wouldn’t accept any liability, then said they would pay for some of it and eventually we got them to agree to pay for the entire part of that wall, but it was a long drawn out process.
“They said they would be providing a replacement but then turned round and said no they’re not replacing it.”
Kevin then received an email this week from Livermore, acting as an intermediary for Royal Mail, saying that “based on customer complaints, they have now reversed their decision and will be installing a new postbox”.
It said: “We’ve agreed to install new street furniture as close in proximity as possible to the old pillar box in the form of a lamp pedestal box.”
The next nearest postboxes are in Bentfield Bower and Chapel Hill.
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