Press, media and BBC Reports
The latest reports are at the top of the page.
24th December 2013
​Royal Mail let residents down at Christmas - the year they became a public company
This Tesco Express store at Waunceirch, South Bryncoch, sells Christmas cards and postage stamps but there is no-where to post them. Unlike the larger Tesco stores, this store has not got a mail post box.
An appeal to the Royal Mail Chief Executive has been unsuccessful, despite a strong case being presented on a campaign website. The nearest post box is down a hill, difficult for elderly people.
Between the cost of posting and access to the mail box it is thought that many residents with walking difficulties have not posted Christmas cards this year. Hopefully their friends and relations will understand the situation. However, it must be stated that some residents have not posted cards on principle and will not post non-urgent mail until the Royal Mail instal a mail box inside the store.
2nd August 2013 - Neath Ferret Website
Post Box Video now on YOUTUBE !
Will the Cannes film festival be next?
Perhaps this is the most determined effort ever made by a community to look after the needs of elderly residents when it comes to posting letters - that is, apart from a petition which is yet likely to come if the Post Office executive do not treat this as a special case because of the exceptional terrain.
Apart from this, it makes sense to have a post collection box in a busy area near, shops, school and a community centre. Second thoughts are always best - let's hope the Royal Mail will do a big public relations exercise and provide a post collection service for the folks who live on top of the hill - and no bus service.
27th July 2013 South Wales Evening Post - website.
27th July 2013 --- South Wales Evening Post
13.7.13 - Neath Ferret News Page
When is a hill called a slope?
When the Post Office say so.
The Postal Office Review Panel's report rejecting the need for a post collection box at the Waunceirch shops has also been rejected by the organisers of the Post Box Campaign Website on the basis that is does not accurately take the tarrain into consideration.
The top of Dwr-y-Felin road is called a 'slope' by the Post Office whereas it is one one the steepest sections of roads in the area. It is a fact that elderly residents have difficulty walking this section after posting a letter.
No new post boxes have been added in the area for over fifty years, despite large developments on the elevated ground.
A full report can be seen in: www.postboxcampaign.tk
22.6.13 - Neath Ferret News Page
Are the Post Office losing the plot?
There was a time when the GPO was a trusted name in communications - now the Post Office appears to be losing the plot at the very time they should be diversifying and moving with the times.
At the very time when letter mail is deceasing due to E-mails they should look to the mobile phone sector and also to banking with the spilt up of Lloyds TSB and the RBS. It would appear that opportunities are being lost.
The Post Office have already closed many sub-post offices and now they are looking to close the larger Crown Post Offices - the one at Windsor Road Neath included.
Tesco sell almost everything - why can't the Post Office sell more?
As far as letter mail is concerned, the Post Office admit they have not installed a new collection box in South Bryncoch for the past fifty years - and that is despite large housing developments at Fernlea Park, Rhiwlas and White's Folly with shops and a Tesco Express store included. In short, they are not catering for the changes that are taking place.
Residents in Cadoxton now find their nearest post office is at Caewern while people in other areas are also at a disadvantage due to the cut backs that have been made.
It all boils down to management - as with a football team, it is the manager, the chief executive, the managing director that makes all the difference.
Shown right is a fifty year-old post box at the bottom of a hill at Caewern - the steepest part of the hill is in the distance and is not in view. You have to be over 65 years of age and walk up the hill to appreciate the situation that residents have to experience after posting a letter.
If you are observant you will note that that grass around the post box has not been flattened by use. This box is not visible from the road and many new residents are not aware of it.
18.6.13 - Neath Ferret News Page
17.6.13
Checking back on the Internet archives, this is what the BBC website had to say about Post Office Collection Boxes:-
.............. BBC website archives
Our Comment
The last paragraph of the above report applies to the Royal Mail Post Boxes at Caewern - with the added fact that they cannot be recognised as post boxes except from a frontal view. The question now is: Will the Post Office listen and take notice of all the facts on this website?
From The Telegraph recently:
Comment. Let's be serious, in the event of a flotation who would want to buy shares in the Post Office after reading the reports on this website?
Going by the press reports on this page, the Post Office can certainly afford to put their house in order and also to instal a much needed collection box at the Waunceirch Tesco store.
