Sent, sorted, delivered — Royal Mail needs more space to sort out parcels in Sandown as demand increases and the number of letters falls.
Serving nearly 14,000 households in the PO36 and PO37 areas of the Island, the Sandown Delivery Office on Beachfield Road is looking to take over the former Post Office next door to help.
The former post office closed in 2018 and sits in front of the main office where mail is sorted and customers can collect undelivered parcels.
Change of use
Royal Mail is seeking permission from the Isle of Wight Council to change the use of the former post office to allow storage or distribution inside, essentially extending the sorting office.
Minor interior works would reconfigure the ground floor to form an additional sorting area.
Externally, the Post Office signs will be removed and film put on the windows to obscure the view.
Outgrown its current space
The company says the extension is essential to the ongoing services of the delivery office as it can meet the increased demand, having outgrown its current space.
The need for more space, it said in planning documents, reflects the changing mix of items it delivers as parcel volumes increase and letters decline.
There would be no proposed changes to the existing customer service point at the delivery office and there would be no increased vehicle movements as a result of the expansion.
View the plans
You can view the application, 22/01409/FUL, on the council’s planning register.
The public consultation runs until 9th September.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: © Google Maps/Streetview
