Royal Mail: U-turn over mail centre closure

It was announced 12 months ago that operations at Reading and Gloucester would be moved to Swindon.

The new plan means Oxford and Reading mail centers will now close in 2009, but Gloucester will remain open.

Royal Mail said the changes addressed “an urgent need to improve mail consistency and efficiency”.

Area general manager Michael Devanny said: “We believe that moving work from Oxford to our extended facility in Swindon, which will be equipped with the latest technologies, will enable us to address an urgent need to improve the reliability of the mail services for our customers in the OX postcode area.

“Our first priority as we take forward this plan will be to fully support staff at all sites, particularly recognising the impact on our Oxford colleagues as a result of the revisions to our original proposals.”

He added that the company had a good “record of managing people through change” and that they would be consulting with the unions and staff.

Development work is due to start at Swindon on 8 October.

As part of the plans, a new delivery office is being developed for central Reading.