Local posties were thanked for their dedicated service when Stuart Anderson MP visited the Royal Mail Delivery Office in Craven Arms. During the visit, on Friday 6th December 2024, Stuart found out how millions of gifts and cards are promptly delivered across the country in the run up to Christmas.
Stuart was delighted to show his support for local posties and their resilience during this, the busiest time of the year for the postal service. Around twice as many parcels and letters are sent through Royal Mail during the festive period compared with other months, as people send Christmas cards and shop for gifts online.
Christmas is Royal Mail’s busiest period, with around double the normal volume of letters and parcels processed. Stuart was pleased to speak with Customer Operations Manager, Jessica Keay, about Royal Mail’s strategy to continue to make sending and receiving parcels as convenient as possible over the festive period by adding more choice.
This includes services like Parcel Collect, where posties pick up parcels from customers at the doorstep, and offering more ways to drop off parcels at convenient times and locations. Royal Mail has already rolled out more than 5,000 parcel points this year - including at Collect+ stores and its growing number of parcel lockers.
Royal Mail prepares all year to deliver Christmas. Across the UK, the business has recruited 16,000 temporary workers to help its 85,000 posties sort the additional mail and increasing number of parcels expected over the festive period. Almost 4,000 new vans, trucks, and trailers are being added to the fleet in time for Christmas.
Craven Arms Delivery Office has hired two new members of staff and two new vans for the Christmas period to meet increased demand for deliveries in the local area. With millions of gifts and cards being purchased and sent across the country, their advice is to send early.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
“I was delighted to visit the Royal Mail Delivery Office in Craven Arms, which is gearing up for the festive period. Royal Mail plays an integral part in enabling festivities across South Shropshire and beyond - connecting communities and generations. Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without the dedicated services of our local posties. My visit has strengthened my appreciation for their hard work, having now seen their breathtaking operations to ensure millions of gifts and cards are efficiently sent across the country."
Jessica Keay, Customer Operations Manager for Craven Arms, said:
“It was great to have Stuart visit our Delivery Office, and to show him how we are gearing up for our peak period. We are pulling out all the stops to deliver Christmas for our customers.”
Royal Mail has published the latest posting dates and other useful information on their website at www.royalmail.com/christmas.
