In recent months there have been a number of reports of poor postal delivery service across the district including Hungerford.

Various organisations including Hungerford Town Council, district councillors and our local MP Laura Farris have tried to investigate the problem.

Laura Farris dropped into the Hungerford Delivery Office at the end of September and posted the following report on her facebook page:

“I am aware that the issue of postal deliveries has not gone away, and have been concerned that the messages I’ve been receiving from Royal Mail Head Office (that issues have been caused by temporary staff shortages and are being resolved) are inaccurate.

“Last week I dropped into the Hungerford Delivery Office in the morning to have a word with the postal workers themselves. They painted a rather different picture. In Hungerford it seems that staffing levels have dropped considerably, meaning that staff are having to take on extra work and are delivering to longer routes than previously. This is adding considerably to the overall workload and I gained the impression that the workload is very challenging to manage and morale is low.

“I have written to Royal Mail making these points, which I imagine are common across West Berkshire and more widely. Even though there are fewer letters generally in circulation than there were, say, 10 years ago, I am well aware that often what arrives by post is time-critical (like hospital appointments), and that this is causing inconvenience. I will continue to update you with the response I receive. However, I want to reassure you that I am still taking up this issue, and also want to respect the voices of the postal workers on the frontline, since they are best placed to explain conditions on the ground.”