Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone has expressed concern over the removal of ‘collection discs’ from local post boxes – and is seeking assurances from Royal Mail that this will not result in fewer collections in the area.

The issue arose when a local resident raised the issue of the discs’ removal from local post boxes. The discs are used to indicate that a scheduled collection has taken place. Without the discs, Ms Featherstone fears that the Royal Mail could dilute the collection service without residents noticing. She has pledged to monitor the situation to ensure that this is not happening.

The Royal Mail has responded to her concerns by saying that they have no plans at present to replace the discs with anything similar in the future – and that customers can ensure the collection of their mail by posting before the last collection of the day.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“I have serious concerns about this innovation by the Royal Mail. The old numbered discs allowed people posting letters to know about the collections and what time they were being made. This new system could give rise to abuse, in that if collections are not made throughout the day, there will be no way of telling.

“Delays in mail are bad enough as it is. I have therefore asked the Royal Mail for collection times from each post box in the N6 area, so that we can monitor that the promised collections match up to the reality.”