Royal Mail in talks over sorting office

The Royal Mail is in talks with the landlord of its sorting office in an East Devon town over the future of its lease.

A Royal Mail spokesman said it was negotiating new terms in the 99-year lease for the sorting office in the town centre, amid rumours that the office might be about to move.

The sorting office behind the Post Office in High Street employs 55 people and has been running for many years. The privately-owned building has an entrance for mail vans filtering onto Chapel Street.

The Royal Mail admitted that if it failed to reach agreement on the terms of the lease it would be forced to look elsewhere.

Among the sites could be Heathpark, a former Army camp and parade ground owned by East Devon District Council on the edge of Honiton.

The Echo reported yesterday that DIY store giants Homebase was planning to open its first East Devon store at Heathpark.

Town councillors said if the sorting office went to Heathpark it would improve access for mail vans and provide an easier route to the A30 and Honiton bypass. The sorting office deals with thousands of letters and parcels each day, serving the town and a large rural area.

Postmen and women collect and deliver mail in more than 20 villages stretching from the outskirts of Exeter to the Blackdown Hills on the Somerset border.

A spokesman for Royal Mail in London said: “We have a 99-year lease on the sorting office building which is privately owned.

“But because of a break clause which allows for re-negotiation of the terms of the lease including financial, we are in talks with the landlord of the sorting office building.

“At the moment we cannot say whether it will automatically be renewed because the landlord may want a higher remuneration from us.

“We have to look at all options and we have not discounted looking around for other premises.

“But we must stress that talks are continuing with the landlord.

“We also stress that a sorting office will remain in Honiton because of the size of the town and the large rural area it serves.”

Honiton Chamber of Commerce said rumours were rife about the sorting office site.

Members said any move to Heathpark could improve access to the A30.

It would also get mail vans onto the bypass, making it easier to reach a number of isolated parishes like Upottery and Weston.

Chamber chairman Terry Fairbrother said: “It could have a bearing on High Street where retail sales have been down, following the foot-and-mouth outbreak.”

Honiton mayor Ruth Robson said: “There is a lot of talk in the town about the future of the sorting office. The rumour is that it is moving.

“Personally, I think it is a good thing if it moves to Heathpark because there is better access to the A30.

“Whatever happens, it is essential that Honiton retains its main Post Office in the town centre.

“The town is getting bigger all the time and that is why we need to retain what we have got.”

Mail is first sorted at Royal Mail’s Sowton headquarters at Exeter after it is collected from post boxes in the Honiton area.

Letters for the Honiton postal district are then returned to the town. The landlord could not be reached