Battle of Altnabreac
Or how 4 remote families took on might of Royal Mail and finally forced it to deliver letters they had to drive 42 miles to collect
For generations the daily delivery of the mail has been a vital lifeline to the wider world.
But in one tiny settlement in the Highlands, that essential link was severed last year when royal mail announced that deliveries would be halted – on health and safety grounds.
And for the past seven months the residents of Altnabreac, in Caithness, have been forced to travel 42 miles to pick up their post.
royal mail claimed that four addresses on a private road in Altnabreac posed a health and safety risk to staff and refused to make any deliveries.
However, following a lengthy campaign from locals, the watchdog ofcom has now ordered royal mail to reinstate daily deliveries immediately.
since october last year, householders in the hamlet, which is home to scotland’s most remote railway station, have had to endure the 42-mile round trip to Halkirk to collect their letters and parcels.
the service had been halted in 2014, only to be reinstated after another appeal by residents.
ofcom’s decision was reached after Kevin Booth, of Lochdhu Lodge, appealed against royal mail’s decision to suspend deliveries to the area due to ‘road conditions’. mr Booth said he was delighted that his appeal had been vindicated.
in a letter to Jamie stone, the Liberal Democrat mP for Caithness, sutherland and Easter ross, mr Booth wrote: ‘the ofcom decision has ruled entirely in my favour in every aspect of my appeal against the royal mail decision to suspend mail deliveries to rural areas of Caithness as part of a cost-cutting drive.
‘my appeal has wide-ranging consequences for all rural properties in Caithness which may have been affected by similar arbitrary decisions by royal mail.’
Announcing its initial suspension of deliveries in october 2014, royal mail said the journey was taking more than a 15-minute round-trip limit due to the length of the road and its quality.
royal mail confirmed ofcom had overturned the delivery suspension for ‘four premises near Halkirk’. it said: ‘Deliveries have recommenced to customers.’