Workers in limbo over Shrewsbury sorting office closure plans

The closure of the sorting office which is based in Castle Foregate was confirmed yesterday meaning all mail for Shropshire and Mid Wales will be sorted in Chester, Wolverhampton and Cardiff from 2014.

Up to 240 jobs have been put at risk at the mail centre and employees in the delivery operation, which remains unaffected, have given support to their fellow workers, branding the plans 'terrible'.

Royal Mail worker for 13 years Stephen McCormick, who works in the delivery department, said: "It is such a large institution in Shrewsbury so it will be terrible if this happens both for the town and our workers. A lot of jobs are going to go.

"A lot of people have been here since school and they wouldn't really have any other skills so it's them I feel most sorry for as they will be left in limbo."

Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski is aiming to set up a crisis meeting with Royal Mail bosses and staff to discuss the proposals.

He said: "The worry is that people who work part-time for example may not find it feasible to work away from the town. The costs of going all the way to Wolverhampton or Chester could be prohibitive."

Councillor Jon Tandy added: "This is not a good step for the economy of Shrewsbury or Shropshire and future employment and economic growth which would have been created in the town will now be created in Chester, Cardiff and Wolverhampton."

Royal Mail bosses said they were hoping to avoid compulsory redundancies and claimed the plans were in response to a 24.3 per cent drop in postal volume over the past five years.

But Ron Millar, 51, who runs Castle News on Castle Street, said: "These plans are ridiculous and will be a huge blow for both the town and the businesses in it."

Mother-of-two Karen Gilbert, who lives in Sutton, said: "I use this mail centre all the time when I need to pick up a parcel and it's so handy having it in the centre of town.

"I appreciate volume may have dropped but you can't send a parcel via e-mail."