By John Baron
Royal Mail has announced that its Tong Road Delivery Office is set to close.
From Monday, 19 January parcels will need to be collected from Leeds City office, which is located on Wellington Road, near the Harley Davidson store.
A flier circulated on social media states: “Where you collect items for which we’ve left a ‘Something for you’ card is changing.
“If we miss you when we try to deliver, we’ll leave your parcels in a safe place, with a neighbour, or we’ll pop back the next working day (excluding Sundays and Bank Holidays).
“If we miss you after a second delivery attempt, any items for which we’ve left a ‘Something for you’ card will be held, ready for collection at Leeds City Delivery Office. For most undelivered items, there’s no need to collect in person.”
Customers can arrange for your items to be redelivered, free of charge.
Tong Road Delivery Office is based on Upper Wortley Road, Wortley.
The move has been criticised in some quarters.
One reader contacted WLD and said: “I live on Henconner Lane and don’t drive – they’re essentially taking this service out of the community and into the outskirts of the city centre, which is a lot more difficult to reach if you don’t have a car. I feel it’s going to inconvenience a lot of people, particularly the elderly.”
Another added: “Sounds a bit of an arse if you don’t drive.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are relocating our operation on Tong Road to Leeds City Delivery Office to provide better facilities for our posties and to help us provide a better service for our customers.
“Deliveries to local residents will continue as normal, with any items that cannot be delivered on the first attempt scheduled for automatic redelivery the next working day. Customers can also choose to have their items delivered to a neighbour, a Safeplace or their local Post Office.
“Over 99% of parcels are successfully delivered on the first or second delivery attempt.”
Customers can also ask for mail to be redirected to the Post Office in Tong Road, or they can check if the sender can choose the Post Office as the place for the parcel to be delivered to.
The building was listed for auction for £450,000 on 10 December, but was withdrawn beforehand. It was marketed as suitable for multiple uses, including workshop or warehousing, community use, residential development or retail, subject to planning approval.
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