Royal Mail blames Europe for late deliveries

Late postal deliveries affecting many parts of Pembrokeshire look set to be permanent as Royal Mail struggles to find solutions to a new European law which restricts the speed of its carriers.

Royal Mail has had to comply with the new EU road transport directive which introduced lower speed limits for some vehicles.

This means lorries which transport mail down the M4 to Pembrokeshire can only travel at 57mph.

As a direct result, postal workers at sorting offices including Pembroke Dock have been told to clock on an hour later at 6.30am and this has delayed deliveries by an hour Because of Pembrokeshire’s peripherality, the effects of the new transport directive are more apparent here than other areas of the UK.

Royal Mail insisted “customers can be reassured that Royal Mail is working hard to minimise the impact of these changes across the country”.

A spokesman said it would continue to make the last delivery by lunchtime in urban areas and mid-afternoon in rural areas.

But Gordon Barry, secretary of the Narberth Chamber of Trade, said words were of little comfort to businesses which relied on an efficient postal system.

Mr Barry suggested that as the standard of service deteriorates businesses will gravitate further towards the internet.

Mr Barry also questioned why Royal Mail didn’t transport its post by train. For towns with stations and sorting offices such as Narberth, Haverfordwest and Pembroke Dock this would be a sensible alternative, he suggested.

However, Royal Mail said this means of transport was abandoned a few years ago.

“A decision was taken at the time to cease the use of trains and instead to maximise the use of our vehicles. By ensuring they are not running with empty or low volumes of mail, we managed to reduce our costs and also our road miles,” said its spokesman.

Late postal deliveries affecting many parts of Pembrokeshire look set to be permanent as Royal Mail struggles to find solutions to a new European law which restricts the speed of its carriers.

Royal Mail has had to comply with the new EU road transport directive which introduced lower speed limits for some vehicles.

This means lorries which transport mail down the M4 to Pembrokeshire can only travel at 57mph.

As a direct result, postal workers at sorting offices including Pembroke Dock have been told to clock on an hour later at 6.30am and this has delayed deliveries by an hour Because of Pembrokeshire’s peripherality, the effects of the new transport directive are more apparent here than other areas of the UK.

Royal Mail insisted “customers can be reassured that Royal Mail is working hard to minimise the impact of these changes across the country”.

A spokesman said it would continue to make the last delivery by lunchtime in urban areas and mid-afternoon in rural areas.

But Gordon Barry, secretary of the Narberth Chamber of Trade, said words were of little comfort to businesses which relied on an efficient postal system.

Mr Barry suggested that as the standard of service deteriorates businesses will gravitate further towards the internet.

Mr Barry also questioned why Royal Mail didn’t transport its post by train. For towns with stations and sorting offices such as Narberth, Haverfordwest and Pembroke Dock this would be a sensible alternative, he suggested.

However, Royal Mail said this means of transport was abandoned a few years ago.

“A decision was taken at the time to cease the use of trains and instead to maximise the use of our vehicles. By ensuring they are not running with empty or low volumes of mail, we managed to reduce our costs and also our road miles,” said its spokesman.