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'Endemic' postal delays remain, says councillor

Ellen Knightin Whitchurch
BBC Sho Abdul is stood on Whitchurch high street and is looking into the camera. He is wearing a light brown T-shirt with an olive green wool jacket over the top, and is wearing a necklace with a large blue gemstone pendant. He has short dark hair and a short beard. Abdul is framed by shops along the edges of the photograph, with a church tower visible in the background. The sky is blue with some white clouds. BBC
Councillor Sho Abdul surveyed 1,000 residents of Whitchurch, and found that 80% had experienced delays in getting their post

People and businesses in a country market town continue to face delays in getting their post, missing the likes of medical appointments as a result, they say.

The news, from one Whitchurch councillor, comes after Royal Mail (RM) announced plans to invest £500m over five years to improve delivery services in the UK.

"The delays that are happening are still endemic," said councillor Sho Abdul, who represents Whitchurch West on Shropshire Council.

Royal Mail told the BBC it would take five to six months to implement its plans and that delivery targets would be met in a year's time. Figures show it is currently hitting 75% in delivering first class mail on time, when the target is 93%.

"I'm still having residents reach out to me saying that they're missing crucial medical appointments," Abdul added.

He ran an informal survey of people living in the town to establish their experiences of postal delays, receiving "around a thousand replies."

"We saw that around 80% of those people had experienced some degree of delay," he said, adding that 40% of that group had post delayed by more than a week, and 20% by more than a month.

Manage sickness absences

As well as RM's investment, part-time postal workers are to be offered the option to work longer hours in an effort to improve its service.

Improvements will also include investment to manage sickness absences and targeted support for the worst-performing delivery offices.

Under these plans, low-priority second class and other non-first class post will be delivered every other weekday instead of daily.

Ellen Knight/BBC Jenny McHale is outside her shop. She is wearing a black fleece with a black gilet over the top, and has long red hair. The shopfront is painted light green, with trays of flowers and plants arranged in rows outside. The shop windows are decorated with heart stickers. Ellen Knight/BBC
Jenny McHale said business paperwork was slow to arrive in the post

Jenny McHale, who runs florist Gallery Flowers on the high street, said her business has experienced postal delays since 2025.

"It's only really getting back to normal now," she said, adding that "there's a lot of stuff missing in the post, from like HMRC."

It has a knock-on effect on the business, McHale said, as "obviously you want to keep on top of all your paperwork... and it just doesn't [arrive]".

Ellen Knight/BBC Simon Lyon is looking into the camera - he is wearing a yellow and blue striped shirt with a dark blue gilet. He is wearing clear-framed glasses, and has short grey hair and a short beard. He is pictured outside the shop - through the front window you can see two mannequins wearing checked blouses. To the left of the photograph you can see part of the high street. The sky is blue with some white clouds. Ellen Knight/BBC
Simon Lyon said his business has not faced any issues with post arriving late

Not all businesses in Whitchurch are experiencing delays, though.

Simon Lyon, from boutique Lorna's House, said his business has "had no problems with [post] at all."

"They come every day to take our parcels away from our online orders," he said, adding: "I can't say that we've had any issues with any letters arriving late."

Ellen Knight/BBC Mark Fulton is looking into the camera - he is wearing a black T-shirt with a black, white and red checked shirt over the top. He has long, light brown hair and a short grey beard. He is photographed inside his shop, which has a black back wall, with the two walls framing him painted white. On the walls, and on shelves, are rows and rows of vinyl records for sale. Ellen Knight/BBC
Mark Fulton said he missed a blood test due to the letter arriving late

Meanwhile at record shop The Vinyl Countdown, owner Mark Fulton said "it seems more that with the domestic post that there's a delay."

"Sometimes [letters] can come 10 days to two weeks late, which can cause problems with if you're waiting for something from the NHS for example," he added.

Fulton said that he once missed a blood test as he did not receive a letter "until after the actual event."

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