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The red postbox outside The Hungry Caterpillar, a post office in Dipton, Stanley, was ‘removed’ overnight on Tuesday (August 19) and will be replaced by an automated solar-powered mail system.
The biggest change to the design of the red postbox since its introduction more than 175 years ago, it is part of Royal Mail’s ‘postboxes of the future’ enhancement drive, but the news has been met with scepticism and sadness by villagers.
“I’m absolutely devastated,” Karen Oliver-Dodds, the village postmistress, said.
“It’s quite an old box, it is an old-style Queen Elizabeth.
“We’ve had no correspondence with Royal Mail about it; the only information I have had is from a postmaster’s Facebook group.”
“The craft group has already got the toppers for the rest of the year planned,” Ms Oliver-Dodds, 45, added.
Pictures of previous postbox toppers at the site include designs paying tribute to fallen soldiers for Remembrance Sunday and a woollen mini likeness of King Charles III to celebrate his coronation.
“I have realised while opening that our post box has been taped off. I’m delighted because we must have been selected to have one of the new solar panel parcel boxes installed.
“But very sad as we will be having our little bit of history removed – our beautiful traditional box, and we won’t be able to have our post box toppers installed anymore.”
Upgraded boxes will be retrofitted with solar panels, which will power a camera that is used to scan a barcode on parcels. A separate chute for packages will then open on the box to post the package.
Another post office worker, Catherine Byers, 60, helped to set up the village’s craft group, which makes the toppers for the postbox as well as other displays around the village for events and holidays.
“We lost the phoneboxes, now we’re losing the postboxes. We are losing the community feel, and I think that’s part of how we feel about it.
“We will have to adapt our designs to be smaller now to do bollard toppers instead.
“But bollard toppers are not the same.”
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The group have Remembrance Sunday in their sights as they set about to bring knitted poppies to the village.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Our new postboxes of the future will offer another convenient way for customers in Dipton and elsewhere to access Royal Mail’s services, alongside home delivery and collection, our Customer Service Points, Post Office branches, lockers and Collect+ Parcelshops.”
“We appreciate the passion and care that goes into the crocheting, knitting and decorating of toppers. With 115,000 postboxes across the UK, there are plenty that remain unaltered and that will remain the case in the future.”
