‘Severe’ Hailsham postal delivery delays: Weaden MP raises concerns with senior Royal Mail representatives

Nusrat Ghani said she was ‘appalled’ by the reports of delays that some Hailsham households had experienced recently.

The MP said several Wealden constituents had been in touch about the disruption with some Hailsham residents saying they had received no post for a fortnight.

She met with senior representatives from Royal Mail to raise their concerns and seek assurances that service would improve before Christmas.

Ms Ghani said: “I recognise the importance of a prompt and reliable postal service.”

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She continued: "Having already made written representations to raise individual cases of residents, I stressed these concerns at a meeting with senior Royal Mail representatives and demanded assurances that there is a clear plan in place to urgently improve the frequency and reliability of postal service for all constituents across Wealden. I understand that the delivery delays have been caused by high levels of staff sickness and absences and I was pleased to secure commitments that resources are being redirected to Hailsham to recover service levels and restore consistent and reliable service ahead of Christmas.

“I understand that all mail is being collected as normal and additional resources will also be deployed to help with deliveries into the new year.”

Royal Mail has confirmed that more than 16,000 extra seasonal workers are set to help with the increased post before Christmas. Ms Ghani added that Royal Mail started redirecting additional resources to Hailsham on Monday, December 18.

A Royal Mail spokesperson told the Express: “Our teams are working extremely hard to ensure a consistent and reliable service to households throughout Sussex this Christmas. We can confirm mail is being delivered to the majority of homes daily. If there is a delay, such as when a route is not completed, we will aim to prioritise that area the following day to ensure any delay is kept to a minimum.

“To support our staff and meet demand, we have recruited 16,000 seasonal workers, increased our vehicle numbers and boosted our operational capacity with extra parcel sorting sites. We are committed to delivering Christmas for our customers.”