Safety fears over changes to post box collection times in Mannings Heath

Derek Castle, who has lived in the village for almost 40 years, is unhappy that the time letters are picked up in Pound Lane has been changed from the afternoon to 9am on weekdays.

While people are directed to an alternative post box with a later collection time near the Dun Horse Inn, Mr Castle has raised safety concerns over the elderly and children having to cross the A281 Brighton Road to reach it from the village.

According to Royal Mail the changes were announced in August last year.

Mr Castle said: “What about the old and infirm and chidren running errands to post things and having to cross the busy A281 which is extremely dangerous especially in the morning and evenings?

“Royal Mail has given no thought whatsoever to its customers.”

He added: “Obviously they are trying to save money but they are reducing the service. It’s small minded.”

Sally Hopkins, a Royal Mail spokesperson, said: “We would like to reassure all our customers that we will retain a high level of access to late collection posting facilities (4pm or later).

“For this reason, existing postboxes further than half a mile from a late posting facility are not included as part of these changes.

“Collection on delivery means the mail collection from certain postboxes will be carried out by the local postman or woman on their delivery route, at a time dependent on where the box is located on that route.

“This will typically be between 9am and 3pm in urban and suburban areas. The indicator tab on the post box will show if the collection has been made. Royal Mail will also be improving the level of public access to postboxes in areas of under-provision, with the addition of around 2,000 new postboxes to the 115,300 we have currently.

“A significant decline in letter volumes means that many postboxes no longer cover their costs. Rather than decommission uneconomic low-use postboxes, we aim to improve the efficiency of our collections arrangements.”