Post office move means 26-mile trip to get parcels
THE post office in Maesteg has moved to new premises but it means customers can no longer collect undelivered mail in the town. Instead they will have to travel to Bridgend.
The new post office service opened last week in Unit 13 at Maesteg Outdoor Market after moving from Talbot Street.
Gareth Shylon, Post Office area network manager, said: “We are very grateful to Bridgend County Borough Council for their support in identifying and securing a premises for us to use in the town centre. We understand that having continued access to Post Office is important to customers and local businesses while we continue our search for a permanent new operator.
“All of the products and services that customers use every day will be available at the branch, with the exception of car tax, passport renewals and specialised identity services.
“The collection of Royal Mail notified letters and parcels that was available at the former branch is however not moving to the new location due to space and secure storage requirements.”
A spokesman for Royal Mail said it was working with Post Office Ltd to find a suitable solution close to Maesteg for customers to collect these items. As a temporary measure, customers will be asked to collect items which could not be delivered first time from the Bridgend Customer Service on Waterton Industrial Estate.
He said: “The vast majority of parcels are currently being delivered first time. If we cannot deliver an item first time, we attempt to deliver to a nearby neighbour or a customer nominated neighbour – if this is not possible the item will be returned to Bridgend Customer Service Point for customer collection or redelivery.
“Customers can also rearrange a redelivery free of charge on a day that is convenient for them.”
However, Suzy Davies, Welsh Conservative Regional Senedd member for South Wales West, said this could mean some residents will face a round trip of 26 miles to collect undelivered mail if they cannot arrange a redelivery.
Mrs Davies said: “The post office and the Royal Mail depot were located next to each other with a link so that post office staff could go through into the sorting office to pick up these letters and parcels for residents. But moving the post office to another building meant that link was lost.
“I urged Royal Mail to find a safe way for Maesteg residents to walk through their yard to pick up these items from staff in the sorting office directly. But it would appear that Royal Mail are not prepared to allow this because of health and safety issues with their vans entering and leaving the yard.
“This means that people will have to travel down to the Waterton Industrial Estate outside Bridgend in order to retrieve their letters or parcels unless they can rearrange a delivery date with Royal Mail or agree an alternative address for delivery.
“I have told Royal Mail that even for customers with cars, doing a round trip of about 26 miles is not acceptable and they have promised to find a better solution. There are two other post offices at present in Maesteg – Caerau and Llangynwyd – so I know Royal Mail are exploring the possibility of leaving undelivered mail and parcels with them although space will probably be the issue.”