Royal Mail axed by Bristol
Bristol City Council has sparked a row after it was revealed it had axed its contract with the Royal Mail for the bulk of its post.
Former Lord Mayor Peter Abraham accused the Labour-run council of hypocrisy – weeping “crocodile tears” over 29 proposed post office closures in the Bristol area, then taking business away from the Royal Mail and handing it to a private operator.
After next Monday all the city council’s second-class post – which Councillor Abraham (Con, Stoke Bishop) believes is about 90 per cent of all the mail the authority sends out – will be collected by the Royal Mail’s rival, TNT.
This is likely to include council tax demands, letters notifying parents of school place offers and notices to people who may be affected by planning applications.
Mr Abraham said: “I’ve had a leaflet telling me that corporate mail services will be changing for non-first-class posting from March 31.
“The mail will be collected every day from the Council House post room by TNT and delivered within two days.
“We’re told the council will pay 21 pence per letter. I understand the Royal Mail’s rate for franked second-class mail is currently 21p but is due to go up on April 8.
“We must be one of the Royal Mail’s biggest customers in Bristol.
“As a council taxpayer and member of a public body, I would sooner support the Post Office.
“Sometimes the cheapest isn’t always the best. The cost of saving a penny here could well mean another post office or two being lost in Bristol.
“It’s outrageous. At a time when we are saying we want to save post offices, we are taking away the lifeblood of the Royal Mail Group, their delivery services.”
Council leader Helen Holland referred the Evening Post’s inquiries about the contract change to the council’s press office, which was last night unavailable for comment.
But Peter Abraham’s Tory group leader on the council, Richard Eddy, said: “The council has a duty to its council tax payers to make sure it gets value for money.
“It seems to me that this is the kind of efficiency saving the council should be looking at.
“I don’t think this will make a direct change to the Post Office network, so I’m reasonably relaxed about it.”
In the old Avon County Council area, 29 post offices are facing the axe after Royal Mail bosses were told to close 2,500 branches across the country or face losing state support.
A six-week consultation on the closures – ending on April 9 – is being undertaken and independent watchdog Postwatch has urged customers to air their views before it delivers its verdict on the proposals to the Royal Mail.
MPs and local councillors have heavily criticised the decision.
Postmasters across the region pledged to fight the closures, with one post office launching a petition which gained 250 signatures in the first day alone.
