I have received lots of complaints over recent months about Royal Mail post-boxes that have been removed without warning and not replaced.

A post-box on Littledale Road in Quernmore was removed in November last year, with no replacement. Royal Mail told me that it has been replaced due to firework damage, and that there was another post-box within half a mile. This was perplexing to say the least, even after I pointed out to them that neither of these facts were true – the firework damage it suffered was 20 years ago, and the nearest post-box is 1.3 miles away – To my frustration, after going back countless times on this, Royal Mail still refused to replace it.

Then, in December residents in East Lancaster lost their post-box, when the Quernmore Road post-box was vandalised and put out of action without any replacement. This means the thousands of residents of Quernmore Park, Standen Park, The Residence, and High Wood have had to travel into town to send mail, which is entirely unacceptable and incredibly difficult for those without a car. Again, Royal Mail have dragged their feet on replacing it and I am still waiting for any updates.

The good news is, when I met last week with the Minister of Postal Affairs, I put this to him and he promised that he will “get it sorted!”. I will be following up to make sure this happens, and hopefully before long residents will have this vital service restored.