Royal Mail : proposes to relocate Inverness mail centre and delivery office to a new site in the city

Royal Mail is proposing to relocate Inverness mail centre and delivery office to a new site in Seafield Road.

The move would mean that the new site would have more than double the amount of operational indoor floor space, which is expected to include new sorting automation in the future. It will also include enough space for its red fleet, customer and staff parking.

It also represents an investment of £6.6 million by the company and underlines its commitment to Inverness and surrounding areas. Royal Mail expects that housing growth in Inverness will mean it will have many new addresses to serve in the coming years as well as growth in parcel deliveries.

The new centre will continue to maintain significant Royal Mail employment in the city.

This is part of Royal Mail's ongoing transformation of its business to increase the efficiency of its operation and provide an even better service for our customers. It will also provide a mail centre and delivery office which is fit for purpose for our people and for our customers. Inverness mail centre is the only fully manual mail centre left in the UK.

As a commercial business, Royal Mail is responding to the huge growth in electronic communications and decline in letter volumes, while seeing a high volume of parcels and online shopping which need to be delivered to customers.

Inverness and Nairn MSP, Fergus Ewing,said: 'I very much welcome this significant investment in Inverness by Royal Mail. This is very positive news indeed for the Highland capital.'

What this means for customers

If this relocation goes ahead, there would be no impact on deliveries to our customers. The postmen and women who work in Inverness would continue to serve the local community, delivering a high quality service to our customers.

Royal Mail can now leave many mail items with a neighbour* if customers are not at home when we attempt delivery. Customers can nominate a dedicated neighbour to take in their parcels by filling in a form at their delivery office.

Customers can also arrange a redelivery free of charge on a day that is convenient for them (including Saturdays), or Royal Mail can deliver the item to a different address within the same postcode area. This service can be arranged by calling the number on the 'Something for You' card we leave or by visiting our website at www.royalmail.com/redelivery.

If customers choose to collect mail from us because they were not at home when we tried to deliver it, mail would be available to be collected at the new site in Seafield road, just over a mile away.

Detailed planning would take place to ensure a smooth transition for our operations, our people and the service we provide to our customers. We have a strong track record of managing operational change in our business and we would work with our staff and our unions to give them the opportunity to discuss the implications in detail.

It is also expected that the Strothers Lane site will be marketed for sale once the move in completed.

*Apart from Special Delivery items and inbound international items that require a signature.

Ends

For further information contact:

Julie Pirone, Royal Mail Press Office

Tel: 07711 446358

Royal Mail press office: 020 7449 8246

Notes to Editors

• Inverness Delivery Office and mail centre is located at 7 Strothers Lane in Inverness, IV1 1AA. There are a total of 274 people based in the site. The delivery office serves customers in the IV1, 2, 3, 5 and 13 postcode areas.