Royal Mail rethink on Shrewsbury sorting office axe urged
Royal Mail has been urged to reconsider its plans to close Shropshire's only sorting office – after it recorded a 1,100 per cent increase in its profits.
Councillor Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council, claimed plans to close the mail centre in Castle Foregate, Shrewsbury, by 2014 would be detrimental to the whole of Shropshire.
And he called on Royal Mail chiefs to look at the wider picture before pressing ahead with the closure.
It comes after Royal Mail revealed its profits for the six months up until September were £144 million, compared with £12 million in the same period last year.
Officials at the Communication Workers' Union have warned that the decision to close the sorting office, which Royal Mail said was down to "mail volume decline", could cost up to 170 jobs.
Councillor Barrow said: "Royal Mail should reconsider, they need to look at the wider picture. The impact of the job losses will be detrimental to the whole of Shropshire. The centre also serves mid and north Wales so there will be a wider negative impact."
Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski has met with Royal Mail officials in a bid to ensure workers are relocated to Wolverhampton or Chester should the county's sorting office close.
